


From Dusk Till Dawn

by OlicityAddicted



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternative Universe - No Island, But not really a prostitute..., F/M, Feelings, Felicity helps Oliver, Felicity is an IT Girl, Happy Ending, Injured Felicity, Injured Oliver, Oliver helps Felicity, Oliver is an ARGUS agent, Overcoming fears doubts and insecurities, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Prostitute AU, Scars, Smut, Threats, and, the violence is not too graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2020-12-30 20:48:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 40,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21146402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OlicityAddicted/pseuds/OlicityAddicted
Summary: Oliver's love life is not as it used to be years ago. Because of what he's been through, he can't find a girlfriend that won't run away from him. One night, he feels lonely and needs some human contact, so he calls someone who, hopefully, will keep him company.Felicity has an appointment with a client. This is her life now, meeting with strangers to earn money. She feels trapped, no one can help her and she has no idea how to get herself out of this mess.Little do they know that this encounter will change their lives forever.Or, the AU where Felicity is forced to be a prostitute and Oliver helps her to get out of a bad situation.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Here we are with a new fic. I hope you will give it a shot and enjoy it!
> 
> (I apologize for any mistake, I'm Italian.)

He’s unnaturally nervous.

He looks down at his watch again and notices that he still has a few minutes.

_Come on, man._ Oliver tells himself. _It’s not the first time you call someone to spend some time with you._

He sighs and checks the clock on the wall. Still three minutes. As he looks around the rest of the room, he thinks back to what led him to this motel.

Earlier in the evening he was feeling restless, but nothing was going to help him to get his release. Sometimes dealing with it himself doesn’t help him at all, making him even more frustrated. Sometimes he needs human contact.

Tonight, he really needs it.

But finding someone to sleep with -or just to spend some time together in very platonic circumstances- is not as easy as it was when he was younger. After everything he went through, Oliver has had a hard time being around people, let alone getting intimate. Especially after the way his ex-girlfriends reacted to him…

A quick search on the web gave him what he needed, what led him here. A phone number and a name.

Oliver runs his hand through his hair. It’s not the first time he hires a prostitute, but it has been a while and he isn’t sure what kind of girl is going to show up. Sometimes they are all fake screams and weird positions from porn movies. But other times they are more natural, women that don’t mind if he holds them and makes them feel cared about.

A soft knock comes from the door.

He really hopes is the latter, because tonight he doesn’t want sex. He wants to make love to someone.

→

Room 26.

The number stares back at her as she quietly knocks on the door. She didn’t expect to meet him at a motel like this. It’s not fancy, but it is very well kept, a contrast to the cheap, dirty motels that are often seen in movies for ‘events’ like this. It’s nice, but anonymous.

_Good._

Felicity takes a deep breath and makes sure her dress doesn’t have any wrinkles on. Not that the man she’s meeting with is going to care about that. Most likely he will rip it off of her without a second thought. She closes her eyes and shakes that image out of her mind.

When she hears soft steps approach the door, Felicity opens her eyes again and waits, almost holding her breath. She has no idea who is on the other side of that door, or what she should expect, but she hopes that it will be over soon.

_How the hell did I end up here?_ She questions herself. _By being reckless. _Her mind supplies.

She takes a trembling breath as she tries to keep her composure, fighting tears that threaten to collect in her eyes.

_Is he even going to notice? Probably not._

Felicity searches the strength that she needs to face this, just when the door slowly opens.

It reveals a young man, not much older than her, wearing cargo pants and a simple white t-shirt. His dark blond hair is well kept, just like the fine stubble covering his cheeks and his chiseled jaw. His lips look so soft and his eyes…

When his deep blue eyes meet hers, as cliché as it sounds, it feels as if time stops. She can’t put a finger on what it is or why, but as he stares at her she feels safe. Which doesn’t make sense since she’d rather be anywhere but here.

It feels like minutes, hours even, but it’s probably just a few seconds before he blinks and gives her a small smile, making her blush if the warmth she feels rising from her chest to her cheeks is any indication.

“You’re Megan, right?” He asks.

Felicity nods. “Yes.” She smiles through the lie. He most likely knows it’s not her real name, but still…

“Hi. Please, come in.” He tells her in a soft voice, opening the door all the way to let her in.

She takes a few steps and looks around the room, as if searching for an escape.

_You need to stay. It won’t be that bad if you think of it as a one-night stand._ She tells herself as she releases a controlled breath through her lips. _Yeah, right. Because that ended well last time._

The door softly clicks close and she turns to look at the man, where he seems to be fidgeting with his fingers, rubbing his thumb and index together as he stares at her.

She put on just a little bit of make-up because she didn’t want to be noticed too much while getting here. She hopes he doesn’t mind that.

→

_She’s beautiful._

Oliver can’t help but think that. Her simple black dress hugs her curves perfectly, her blonde hair cascading over one shoulder leaves the other naked, except for the thin strap of her dress. She’s not wearing a lot of make-up and he’s glad about it, so he’s able to see her natural beauty.

And her eyes… He could get lost in those blue eyes. They seem to hold a secret, a secret that she’s trying her best to keep hidden, if the way she fidgets with her purse is any indication. He doesn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, so he looks around the room, casting his eyes away from her.

“Do you want something to drink?” He asks. “Water, soda, wine?”

Megan slightly shakes her head. “No, thank you, Sir.”

Oliver grimaces. “Please, there’s no need for that. You can call me Jonas.”

She nods, smiling politely at him. She obviously knows that’s not his real name.

Oliver walks to the nightstand and grabs the envelope before standing in front of her again. “This is for you.”

She’s hesitant when she takes it before putting it in her purse, not caring about counting the money, unlike many others. Instead, she pulls out what he thinks might be a document.

“I need you to read this, Si- Jonas.” She says.

With a frown, Oliver takes the document and quickly scans it. On one side, are listed the things she agrees to do, on the other those that she won’t do.

“It’s non-negotiable.” She tells him, her voice firm, making it clear that she means it.

Oliver places the list on the table next to him and nods. “Okay.”

“No, I… You need to read it, all of it.”

“You can tell me what you want to do.” He reassures her. “I promise I won’t do things you don’t want me to.”

“Please, read it.” She insists as her voice shakes and she doesn’t seem to be able to meet his eyes.

“Alright.” He takes the paper again. “Okay, Megan, I’ll read it.”

After making sure he didn’t upset her, he lowers his gaze and starts to read.

She agrees to penetration, oral, fingering and such, but she refuses to use handcuffs or any kind of restraints, also says no to breath play, chocking, spanking and anything that could harm her.

Her list is reasonable, and if she asked him to just hold her, he’d do that and nothing else.

After all, that’s all he wants. Someone to keep him company for a while, love-making is an extra.

→

Felicity holds her breath as he reads through her list. She knows it’s unusual, that prostitutes don’t have lists like that, but she needs to have one, even if he’s going to laugh at her and ignore her requests.

Her heart tells her that he’s not that kind of man, but she can’t be sure. She’d been so wrong on other men recently.

When Jonas takes a step towards her, Felicity raises her eyes to look at him and study his reaction. He’s calm and gives her a small, sincere smile. He doesn’t seem mad that she agrees to do only the basics.

“Do you want me to sign it?” He asks as he reaches for the pen that’s resting on the table.

She’s taken aback by his reaction. _Maybe just screwing is enough for him? Or maybe he’s just messing with you and, after we start, he’ll do whatever he wants._

Felicity shuts the voice in her head as she shrugs. “No, that’s not necessary. I just wanted you to read that.”

He nods as he puts the paper on the table. “I did. Twice. And I’m okay with everything on it.”

She sighs. “Okay.”

Jonas takes a step closer, but not too close to make her feel cornered. “Before we go any further, I need to know something.”

Felicity frowns but she nods, silently telling him to go on.

“I need to know that you _want_ to do this.” He calmly tells her. “That you’re not being forced to be here by someone and that I am not forcing you to sleep with me. I need to know if you’re one hundred percent consensual. If not, you can just take the money and leave. I won’t make you stay here.”

And once again he surprises her. She didn’t expect him to be like this. She didn’t expect him to care about her or what she wanted.

As she was waiting outside his room, staring at the number 26 on the door, Felicity thought she was going to get fucked and made to leave right after the man finished his business, but… That’s not what’s happening right now.

Jonas seems ready to let her leave with the money if that’s what she wants. He’s giving her a choice.

_I have a choice._

Minutes ago, she would’ve have fled the room in a heartbeat, but now… Now Felicity doesn’t feel like she _has_ to stay and looking into his kind blue eyes she finds herself meaning the next words that leave her lips.

“I want to stay here.” She whispers.

She entered the room wanting to believe that it was something like a one-night stand. Now, in front of a handsome, kind man who is giving her the opportunity to choose, she _wants_ it to be a one-night stand.

_It’s my choice to stay._

So, a one-night stand is what it’s going to be for her.

→

He stares into her eyes, searching for any signs of doubts, but he doesn’t find any. Still, he waits. He waits and gives her the chance to walk away if she changes her mind.

But she takes a step towards him, rising on her tip toes as she closes her eyes, leaning closer and closer until her lips are just a breath away from his.

He wants to lean down and close the gap, but he waits. His right hand gently rests on her upper arm but he still waits.

She feels his warm breath on her lips, and it makes her shiver. It makes her shiver in anticipation and she wants nothing else than the feel of his lips on her. Her hand finds its way to his shoulder, where she anchors herself as she rests her lips over his.

He sighs in relief, his free hand rests on her waist as he gently nips her lower lip.

She thinks that things might quickly escalate after that, but she’s wrong, because he continues to softly kiss her, taking his time. The hand on her waist circles her middle, pulling her close to his chest as the hand he has on her upper arm moves to cradle her cheek.

She wraps her arms around his shoulders to steady herself as his tongue runs gently over her bottom lip and she opens her mouth to meet him, stroking her tongue against his, the taste of each other exhilarating.

Time seems to slow down as they softly kiss.

This isn’t how Felicity imagined it was going to be. It’s so much better, because it feels like what they’re doing means something, as if there’s a connection between them.

And this is what Oliver wanted all along. Not just sex, but something meaningful, something that shows him that he can care about people and that people care about him -sort of.

They both lose track of the time they spend standing there, next to the table, just kissing and holding each other, with their clothes untouched.

When she realizes this, she runs her hands down his back, feeling the coiled muscles hidden beneath the shirt, before she takes a step back, forcing him to let her go and remove his arms from her back.

She looks up at him as she slowly turns around, her hair pulled over one shoulder, she looks back at him. “Do you mind?”

He reaches for the zip and slowly pulls it down, exposing her back. He lightly traces her spine with his fingertips, goosebumps covering every inch of skin he touches, making her sigh and close her eyes at the sensation. He pushes the strap of her dress until it falls from her shoulder and he leans down to her exposed skin, placing a warm kiss on her neck.

“Jonas…” She barely whispers.

“You still want to continue?” He makes sure.

“Yes.” Is her answer, no hesitation. And she really means it.

He kisses her neck again before he helps her with the other strap and the dress slips down her body, falling in a heap at her feet. She steps out of it and, with a blush covering her chest and cheeks at being naked in front of him except for just a thong and heels, she turns around.

She expects him to be looking down at her body, instead his eyes immediately find hers, blue on blue.

She reaches for the hem of his shirt, ready to pull it over his head, but his fingers gently take a hold of her wrists to stop her.

“The shirt stays on.” He tells her. “That’s my only request.”

She has no idea why he’d ask her that. Surely he has nothing to be ashamed of, she can feel only muscles through his shirt, but she doesn’t say anything about it. He accepted all of her requests without a question, it’s only fair that she does the same for him.

“Okay.” She replies with a nod of her head.

He leans down and captures her lips again, his hands are on her waist, but he doesn’t move them any lower.

He’s being respectful, and she’s grateful for it, though she’s feeling more and more at ease now that she doesn’t see this as something she _has_ to do, but as something she _wants_ to do.

When he cradles her head and deepens the kiss, she reaches for his belt.

“What about your pants?” She mumbles against him.

He shrugs. “I don’t really need them right now.”

She finds herself smiling into the kiss and he smiles too. Her hands make a quick work at getting rid of the belt and when she unbuttons and unzip his pants, she feels him hard and a sudden wetness rushes to her already aching core.

He pushes his pants down his legs, never breaking the kiss, and clumsily steps out of them and his shoes.

When he puts his arms around her middle and pulls her close to his chest, she holds on to him and wraps her legs around his waist. He kisses her neck and she cups the back of his head to keep him there as he steps around their clothes and walks to the bed, where he gently puts her down close to the edge and kneels on the floor.

He kisses her once again, his warm hands covering almost her entire back as his lips leave hers to kiss a path down her neck and chest, where he stops and takes one nipple in his mouth. She gasps when he runs his tongue over the tip, sending a rush of blood straight to her aching core.

He takes his time to give the same treatment to both of her nipples before he’s gently pushing her down on the mattress as he kisses her stomach, stopping just above her underwear.

He looks up at her, his eyes almost black with want, as he plays with the edge of her thong.

“Can I?” He asks.

She’s unable to form words and just nods her consent as her breathing quickens.

He slowly removes the undergarment, never looking away from her eyes. When that task is completed, he fumbles with her feet until he’s able to remove her high heels, leaving her completely bare in front of him.

“You’re beautiful.” He says, never once looking down at her body, but staring deeply into her eyes.

It makes her feel warm, and sure enough she’s bright red from the chest to her cheeks.

“Thank you.” She mumbles quietly, a nervous smile on her lips.

He smiles and crawls on top of her, keeping his weight off of her by resting his hands next to her head on the mattress as he leans down to give her a soft kiss.

It’s such a sweet kiss that it makes her feel so safe and cared about… She can’t even explain it to herself why he has that effect on her.

When he pulls away slightly, he stares down at her. “The oral sex on your list… Does it go both ways? I mean, are you okay receiving it?”

She’s only half surprised that he’s asking her that. On one side, half an hour ago she didn’t think the client was going to _give_ her oral. But another part of her is starting to believe that Jonas is not a normal client. He seems to genuinely care about her wellbeing and in making her feel comfortable.

“Yes,” she replies, “that’s okay.”

He gives her a smile before he’s crawling back down between her legs. Most prostitutes don’t care about receiving oral, and others pretend to enjoy it just to make things go faster, so everything will be over quickly and they can leave with the money.

But Megan… There is something different with her. He doesn’t know what it is, but it’s like she’s not even doing her job, like she’s just having a one-night stand or something.

And Oliver is grateful for that, it makes everything more ‘real’.

As he looks up at her again, he notices she has her eyes closed, her face relaxed and ready to enjoy what he’s about to do to her. Without wasting more time, he presses a soft kiss on the inside of her thigh, scraping his stubble across her silky skin, her scent hits his nostrils and he can see she’s already glistening. He presses his lips right on her center before he runs his tongue in a long stroke, tasting her for the first time.

She lets out a soft moan, not expecting to be so sensitive already, and when he licks her more firmly, she inhales sharply, the sensation so strong. He continues to taste her slowly, hitting spots so sensitive that she had no idea they could make her legs feel like jello. She has to rest them on his shoulders and his hands gently grip her thighs to keep them there.

“Oh, my god… Jonas…” She whispers.

His tongue swipes over her clit more firmly and her moans get louder, her legs start to shake and soon she’s gripping his hair and pushing her pelvis against his face, her feet dig into his back as she trembles in the throes of her orgasm.

Oliver can tell it’s a real one and she’s not faking it, which makes him smile. As her body starts to come down from its high, he carefully drops her legs until her feet touch the floor and he leaves a trail of small kisses along her body as he crawls on top of her.

Felicity keeps her eyes closed while she catches her breath, but she feels him pick her up and move her to the center of the bed, then he kisses her neck and shoulders, resting his body on top of hers. He’s still wearing his boxer briefs but she feels him hard, and he’s definitely well-endowed.

“How are you feeling, Megan?” He asks looking down at her, his right hand cups her cheek as he stares into her eyes.

His concern warms her heart and she smiles at him. “Everything’s amazing.”

He chuckles and leans down to peck her lips. “Good.” Another small kiss. “Do you want to take a break?”

She shakes her head. “No.” Her hands grab his underwear. “Let’s get rid of these, shall we?”

He doesn’t need to be told twice and with a quick move he gets out of them and covers her body with his once again, his shirt the only piece of clothing separating them. No chance he will take that off and ruin everything.

His hips press against hers, making her close her eyes as she sighs softly, wrapping her legs around his waist.

“Condom?” She asks.

Without leaving the comfort of her embrace, he reaches out to grab one where it rests on the nightstand and makes a quick work of rolling it on. When he’s done, he wraps his arms around her body, and he can’t help but notice how small she is compared to himself. He also feels a strange need to protect her and keep her safe.

When she smiles up at him and nods, he carefully slips inside, making her moan again. As he gives her time to adjust to his size, he covers her neck with wet kisses, gently biting the point where the neck meets the shoulder and mindful of not hurting her or leaving a mark.

The moment she feels ready, she wraps her arms around his shoulders and rolls her hips, prompting him to move. His thrusts are slow and gentle, even tender as he continues to leave kisses wherever he can reach.

Hours ago, Felicity didn’t think it possible, but she’s glad she stayed when he gave her the opportunity to leave. As much as she dreaded the night, she finds herself enjoying it very much, and she has no doubt it’s all thanks to Jonas. Because it doesn’t feel like they’re just having sex. The way he’s holding her, the gentleness of his movements, the soft touches, the tender kisses he places on her body… It feels like he’s making love to her. And she wants to do the same for him.

So, when he kisses her lips again, she gently nudges his shoulder, and he immediately knows what she wants. He rolls them over until she’s on top of him, his arms still wrapped around her middle while her hands cup his cheeks. She kisses him languidly, her hips make slow circles as he thrusts up from his position, making him go deeper.

When the need for oxygen becomes too strong, she pulls back and stares down at him, their bodies moving on their own. His eyes are almost entirely black, just like hers. Their warm breaths mix together as their lips rest only inches apart. His left hand moves up her back and pulls a strand of hair behind her ear.

If they were lovers, this is the moment when they would say ‘I love you’ to each other, because for a long time nothing else exist but the two of them.

Oliver doesn’t think about how others are disgusted by him, or how lonely he feels every day.

Felicity doesn’t think about the real reason that led her here, why she finds herself in the arms of a stranger.

For minutes and minutes, it’s just Megan and Jonas. And it’s amazing.

After a while, she starts to get close and he senses it somehow, because he secures her in his arms and rolls them over again. When he’s on top, he quickens his thrusts, making sure to brush against her sensitive bundle of nerves, which drives her insane. She has to close her eyes at the feeling, her mouth opens but no sound comes out.

“It’s alright.” He whispers in her ear. “Just let go.”

“Jonas…” She moans, her hands slipping under his shirt to lightly scratch his back.

He’s about to take her hands and move them away before she can notice, but his next thrust makes her go over the edge with a loud moan, her walls squeeze around him and he loses any coherent thought as he reaches his point of no return.

He hides his face in the crook of her neck as their bodies tremble together, their arms still wrapped around each other, her moans and his harsh breaths echoing in the room.

Slowly they both come down from their highs, her hands run lazily across his back as she smiles, satisfied and happy with how the night turned out.

He raises his head from her neck and looks down at her, a soft smile on his lips too.

She’s about to tell him how amazing it was, when she realizes that her hands have pulled his shirt almost all the way up to his shoulders.

Inhaling sharply, she removes her hands until they rest on the mattress. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

He uses one hand to pull down the shirt as he continues to stare at her. “It’s okay.”

She shakes her head. “You respected all of my requests, but I didn’t- the only thing you asked was to leave it on and I…”

“Megan…” He cups her cheek and makes her look into his eyes. “It’s okay.”

She stares at him and after a few moments she’s convinced that he’s not upset. “I’m sorry.” She repeats anyway.

“Don’t worry about it.” And without thinking he leans down to press a kiss on her forehead.

Slowly he slips out of her and removes the condom, throwing it in the bin next to the bed. When he lays back down, she has her eyes closed and her breathing is slowing down.

“I need to go.” She mumbles, mostly to herself.

He rests a hand on her arm. “Did you drive here?” She nods. “Then maybe you should rest a little. It’s not safe if you get in the car like this.” He tells her concerned.

She blinks her eyes open and looks at him. “I don’t want to bother you.”

“You’re not.” He replies, grabbing the bedsheets to cover their bodies. “Sleep. There’s no rush.”

She considers leaving anyway, but he’s right, she’s too tired to drive. “Just a few minutes.” She mumbles, closing her eyes again.

Oliver smiles and reaches out to turn the lights off before scooting close to her. In response, she moves her head closer until she’s barely touching his arm, lets out a soft sigh and he feels her relax next to him.

He closes his eyes and let her slow breaths lull him to sleep.

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to anyone who left kudos and comments, they're really appreciated!! Without further ado, enjoy this new chapter, where you'll start to understand what's going on...

At first, she has no idea what wakes her up. She feels warm and comfortable as she hugs her pillow. A very firm pillow. When said pillow moves, Felicity opens her eyes and realizes that she’s lying half on top of Jonas, who is looking at his phone, the light coming from it is too bright in the dark room and it makes her close her eyes again.

“I think it’s yours.” He tells her groggily, noticing that they had been asleep for around two hours.

When Felicity realizes her phone is ringing, she groans and slowly stands to search her purse as he turns on the lights. Oliver stands up and puts on his boxer briefs before turning to look at her. She’s still naked and he can’t help but think once again that she’s gorgeous.

When she finds her phone, she freezes and a shiver runs down her spine.

“Is everything okay?” He asks concerned.

Felicity quickly looks back at him and gives him a forced smile. “Yeah. I just really need to go now.”

She hastily gathers her things, quickly putting on her underwear and the dress, not bothering to pull the zip all the way up, and she starts to walk to the door. When her hand grasps the door handle, she stops. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She can’t just leave like that.

“Megan?” He says, wondering if _he_ is the one who upset her so much that she’s all but running away scared from the room.

She turns around and walks up to him, one hand rests on his bicep as she stands on her tip toes and places a soft kiss on his lips. Oliver is even more confused, but his hand automatically falls on her waist, holding her close.

When she pulls back, his intense eyes stare into hers, trying to understand the reason for her behavior.

“Thank you.” She whispers to him.

“For what?” He asks surprised.

A small but sincere smile covers her lips. “For being who you are.”

That’s her only reply before she turns around again and walks out of the door, quietly closing it shut and leaving him standing there in the middle of the room, wondering about what just happened.

→

Felicity carefully watches around the parking lot, aware of her surroundings, but no one is around. She unlocks her car and sits behind the wheel, immediately locking the doors. She places her purse on the passenger seat before she hides her face in her hands and releases a deep breath.

The night didn’t go as she first imagined and for that she’s grateful. Sure, Jonas-

“Took you long enough.”

She jumps at the voice coming from behind her, one hand covers her chest and she feels her heart beating wildly. Felicity turns in her seat and she sees _him_.

“How the hell did you get in here?” She questions him, her breaths coming out in fast pants after the scare.

He gives her one of his sick smiles. “Through the door.”

“What are you doing here? You followed me?” She asks him, ready to jump out of her own car if she needs to.

He raises an eyebrow and extends his hand. With an annoyed huff, Felicity reaches for her purse and grabs the envelope Jonas gave to her.

“That’s your fucking money.” She says, almost throwing the envelope at him. “Now give me the drive.”

He chuckles and gives her a USB pen drive as he starts to count the money.

“Is this the only copy?” Felicity asks, ready to destroy the device.

He laughs. “Hell no. I’ve got other copies.”

Felicity glares at him. “You said that if I did this tonight, you-”

“I know what I said.” He snaps. “But I’ve changed my mind. Especially because of this.” He waves the money in front of her face. “You stay in there for over three hours and get out with the payment for only two? You needed to ask him the extra.”

“It’s not like that…” Felicity starts to say. “We… fell asleep, the actual time-”

“You fell asleep?” He asks mockingly. “Aww, that’s so cute.” His fake smile disappears and a glare takes its place. “You should’ve asked him the extra anyway. If you had another client right after him-”

“No more clients.” She yells at him. “I don’t want to do this anymore. I did what you said and you’ve got your money, now get rid of the video.”

Before she knows what’s happening, his hand tightly grips her jaw, making her look at him, his face only inches away from hers. “You take your clients, give me the money and maybe I’ll let you keep part of it. But never, _never_ _again_ you will tell me what I should do. Do you understand?”

Felicity wants to spit on his face, give him a punch and kneel him in the groin, but she fights against all that. She knows she can’t win.

Tears start to collect in her eyes, for the pain in her jaw and the anger that she feels because this is happening to her. But she won’t cry in front of him.

“Do you understand?” He repeats louder.

“Yes.” She finally tells him, feeling defeated once again.

He leers at her. “Good.” He pulls her closer and forcefully kisses her.

Felicity does her best to not push him away, afraid to anger him more, but she can’t help the disgusted noise that leaves her throat.

_Jonas not once kissed me this viciously. _The thought invades her mind out of nowhere, just when he finally pulls away.

“I’ll get in touch. I’m sure you’ll have a busy schedule very soon.” He smirks and laughs out loud before he gets out of her car.

Felicity quickly locks the doors. It’s probably useless, seeing how he already got in once, but she does it anyway. She closes her eyes and her hands rub against her mouth to get rid of the disgusting taste of his lips as she lets out a sob.

_What the hell am I going to do?_

She tries to calm down, wiping away the tear tracks from her cheeks. When she feels like she can drive, she turns the key in the ignition and drives out of the parking lot, ready to take secondary roads to make sure he’s not following her.

As she drives away, she doesn’t notice the curtains falling shut behind the window of the room 26.

→

Oliver paces his living room.

He can’t stop thinking about last night. When Megan left the room, he looked out of the window to make sure she got to her car safely. A man suddenly appearing on the backseat scared her, and Oliver was ready to intervene, but she seemed to know the man. It wasn’t long before she gave him the envelope with the money.

It was clear that Megan worked for him.

They had a heated discussion, the man seemed mad and when Megan yelled something at him, he gripped her hard by the jaw.

Oliver’s hand went to the door handle, but he hesitated. What if his intervention made things worse? What if the man was armed and he hurt Megan after seeing Oliver approach them?

With a heavy heart, he had watched the scene from the distance. The man roughly kissed Megan, when she clearly didn’t want him to, then he left.

And Megan cried alone in her car. Oliver wanted to check if she was okay, he wanted to make her feel safe, but she quickly regained control over her emotions and drove away.

Now, Oliver doesn’t know what to do.

Yesterday, he asked Megan if she was being forced to be there by someone, but she denied it. She told him that she _wanted_ to stay, and he felt it, he felt her passion as they got intimate, and it was not an act, of that he was sure. But the money exchange meant that she was working for the man, the piece of shit who took all the money and treated her roughly.

Oliver runs his hands through his hair and thinks about what he saw, and everything that happened between him and Megan in those short hours.

_What the hell should I do?_

→

Her phone rings and it makes her jump.

Felicity quickly takes it from her purse and looks down at the number. _Anonymous_. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

_Don’t lose it._ She tells herself.

She stands and makes sure no one of the present has noticed her weird reaction, before she walks to the nearest bathroom. All the stalls are empty, so, with an unsteady deep breath, she answers.

“Yes?”

“Hey, Blondie.” He says cheerfully. “I’ve got good news. A job. Tonight.”

“Not now.” She seethes.

“There’s this guy that is going to pay us a fortune.” He tells her, ignoring what she just said. “He wants you all for himself at his house, the whole night. From dusk till dawn.”

As his words register in her head, panic settles in her bones.

_A whole night with a client? I’ll never make it._ She thinks.

With Jonas she got so lucky. He was sweet, caring and gentle. He was respectful and didn’t force her to do anything. Which is why she had stayed. Why _she_ made that choice.

But what kind of man is this one going to be? He wants to meet at his own house, it means anything can happen. What if he’s one of those men with weird kinks, Fifty Shades of Grey style? She can’t do that.

Tears collect in her eyes as her hands shake. “Please… I already told you, I don’t want to do this anymore.” Her voice trembles and sounds weak, but she doesn’t care.

“Do I have to remind you of the video?” He asks menacingly.

“Your plan already worked. You don’t need that anymore, it’s useless.”

“Really?” He mocks her. “So, you want to tell me that you won’t care if I send it to, where are you at now? Palmer Technologies?” He breathes a fake gasp. “Did I interrupt your interview? Imagine how well that will go after they see you-”

“Stop…” Felicity closes her eyes, causing her tears to slip freely down her cheeks. There’s no way she can come out of this as the winner. “I’m begging you… just… not the whole night.”

“Babe, you have a choice to make. You either go to this man’s house tonight and do _whatever_ he wants, or the video goes to the CEO of that company. And you know exactly what will happen if I do that.”

Felicity chokes on a sob and she has to cover her mouth to hide her cries. She has her hands tied. Whatever she will try to do to fight him, it won’t work.

“Tick-tock, Blondie.” He urges her.

She bites her lower lip and racks her brain for something, _anything_. But she comes up empty handed, again.

“Alright, then.” He declares. “Palmer Technologies will receive a copy-”

“No, wait! Please…” Felicity closes her eyes and breathes out a defeated sigh. “What’s the address?”

→

Felicity looks up at the house.

It’s enormous and beautiful. There’s a white picket fence, very cliché but it looks perfect in front of the small garden that leads to the steps of the front door. She has no doubt there’s a bigger garden on the back, maybe a pool too. Houses nearby are very similar, but this one has something different, something she can’t really explain. This one looks cozier, it’s the classic house where you want to get married and make a family. It feels wrong that the man behind that door hired a prostitute.

_Or who he thinks is a prostitute._ Her mind corrects her. _Well, you get paid to have sex with strangers. You are a prostitute._

And this one hired her for the whole night.

_From dusk till dawn, to be exact._

It sends shivers down her spine and she tightens the leather jacket she put on. The temperature has dropped drastically since last night, though the jacket is more like an extra protective layer of clothing to make her feel safe, if only for a few minutes.

The chilling air isn’t helping either, but she’d rather spend the night out here, in the cold, than take a step inside and go through who knows what.

She checks the time on her phone and notices that she’s already late by four minutes. “Frack.” She mumbles and reluctantly walks up to the door. Her hand is only inches away from the doorbell and she hesitates.

_Is it really worth it? He’s not giving me other choices, but… Will I be the same if I walk in there tonight? What if this man is violent? What if he’s a psycho? What if he’s a serial killer? What if he’s-_

The door suddenly opens, and her mouth hangs open in shock.

“Jonas?” She whispers.

“Hi, Megan.” He says, his voice is music to her ears. His smile a beacon of hope for her eyes.

For some reason, the fear vanishes and her heart starts to beat wildly in her chest.

Just like Oliver’s. He looks at her and he’s sure there’s a dopey smile on his face. She’s so beautiful, with her red dress, a black leather jacket, and a pair of red high heels.

He’s not surprised that she’s shocked to see him. When they texted earlier in the day, he gave her a different name, unsure if she was going to meet with him if he said he was ‘Jonas’ again. And after meeting at the motel, he decided to just invite her over at his house, hoping to give her a sense of security that motels lack of.

Oliver sees her shiver and immediately takes a step to the side. “Please, come in, it’s getting pretty cold out there.”

After only a moment of hesitation she does as he says and then follows him to the living room. He motions for her to sit on the couch and she takes a seat, but he doesn’t.

“Would you like something to drink?” He asks her.

“Maybe a glass of water? Please?” Felicity responds with a small smile. She needs a minute alone to gather her thoughts.

He smiles at her. “I’ll be right back.”

After he leaves her alone, Felicity takes off her jacket and puts it on the back of the couch as she looks around.

It’s a nice living room, very spacious and _warm_. That’s the word that comes to mind to describe it. Though that could be because there’s a giant fireplace next to the couch. The flames help her to regain some feeling in her fingers in no time.

As she sits there waiting for Jonas, she thinks back to their previous night. Before meeting him, she was terrified of what could happen, but he had been amazing, he took care of her and didn’t make her feel uncomfortable, especially because of her ‘profession’. He just made her feel like a woman.

And now she’s going to spend an entire night with him.

_Just because yesterday he was amazing, it doesn’t exclude him as a serial killer._

“I’m not a serial killer.” He says from behind her, making her jump slightly. He rounds the couch and hands her the glass she requested before sitting on the chair next to the couch.

“Did I say it out loud?” She asks him with a grimace, and he confirms it with a nod. “Sorry. I tend to do that when I’m nervous.”

“You’re nervous?” Oliver genuinely asks her. He really hopes it’s not because of him.

She shrugs and busies herself drinking some water, looking anywhere but at him.

“I promise you, I’m not a serial killer.” He tells her quietly, hoping she will believe him.

She fights the smirk that threatens to show on her face. “Isn’t that what a serial killer would say to get in the good graces of the innocent victim?”

It makes him laugh softly. “Maybe… But I can’t know that for sure, because I’m not one.”

“Alright.” She concedes, smiling at him as she relaxes.

They can both feel the tension building, a connection between them that is there from their previous night. But there’s a different kind of tension too, like as if they don’t know what to do next, how to approach the elephant in the room.

On one side, Felicity isn’t sure if he’s going to act like the night before or if he’ll be different, considering they’re in his house, and for the whole night. She’s not worried he’ll ask her to do things she doesn’t want to, he still doesn’t give her that vibe, but not knowing why he wanted her for the whole night is a little unnerving.

As for Oliver, he wants to ask her about what is really going on, why she lied about working for someone, why she stayed when he gave her a chance to just leave with the money. He wants to know why she thanked him before leaving. But most of all, he wants to help her and keep her safe from the man that is obviously using her.

When she clears her throat, they both shake their thoughts away. “Do you… Do you need to read my request list again before we-”

“No, Megan.” He gives her an almost sad smile. “I remember the list, but… I didn’t ask you to come here for that.”

She frowns at that. “No? You… You don’t want us to, you know…”

Oliver shakes his head. “I just wanted to talk to you.”

Her frown deepens. “Oh, okay… Talk about what, Jonas?”

“Well, the first thing I want you to know is that Jonas is not my real name.” He smiles at her. “I’m Oliver.”

His sincerity surprises her. Why he’s telling her that, she has no idea, but from the look in his eyes she gets the feeling that this is going to be the first of many truths she’ll find out about him tonight.

“Oliver… Okay, uhm…”

She’s unsure of what to say, Oliver can sense that, and she’s probably wondering if he wants her to tell him her real name too. He reaches out to her to rest his hand on her arm, and he can feel the tension coursing through her body.

“It’s okay.” He reassures her. “You don’t have to tell me yours.” She lets out a soft breath and relaxes slightly. “I just wanted you to know that.”

She nods and clears her throat. “Okay, but… I don’t understand why you wanted me here tonight, other than to tell me your real name.”

Oliver takes a deep breath and stares into her eyes. “Megan, I saw you last night. I saw what happened when you left the room, that man in your car.”

Felicity tenses at that. She doesn’t know what to say to him, unsure if she can trust him with her story, trust him with what _he_ is making her go through. She wants to trust Jon- Oliver, but she’s scared. Everything she had worked hard for is at risk and, unfortunately, she doesn’t know how to get out of the situation. Telling someone about it might make things worse if _he_ finds out.

She shakes her head. “What I do in my private life is not your business.” She says, her voice trembling.

“Megan, I saw you hand him the money I gave to you.” He tells her quietly. “If he’s forcing you to prostitute yourself-”

She can’t stand it. Felicity shakes her head and stands. “Please, stay out of this.” She grabs her jacket and walks to the front door.

Oliver swears under his breath and follows her. “Megan.” Her hand is already on the handle and he takes a few quick steps to catch up. “Megan, please wait.”

He rests his hands on her upper arms and she stops. She has her back to him, and his grip is loose so she can leave if she wants, but she doesn’t move.

“Please, just listen to what I have to say.” Oliver tells her softly. “Then you can leave and do whatever you want with your life, the choice is yours. But I can help you, if you let me. I promise.”

Felicity closes her eyes and thinks about his words.

_The choice is yours._

He’s not forcing her to stay, he’s not forcing her to listen to him, he’s not forcing her to do anything.

_The choice is yours._

The words echo in her head and she believes them. He’s not deceiving her, he’s not using her to get something in return. She believes that he means those words and that he wants to help her.

_The choice is yours._

Her hand falls to her side and she turns around, just to find Oliver staring at her with kind, hopeful eyes.

“You really think you can help me?”

His left hand rests once again on her upper arm and squeezes reassuringly. “Yes, I’m sure we can find a way to get you out of whatever situation you’re in. You just have to trust me.”

She closes her eyes and Oliver can feel the change in her as she makes her decision.

“Okay.” She whispers.

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter you'll find out what happened in the past... both Felicity's and Oliver's.
> 
> (Updates will be every 2 or 3 days, depending on my work schedule.)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you so much for the support!
> 
> If I have to be honest, I'm reading a fic right now, with so many details and characters' thoughts, that is so well written I'm almost ashamed of my writing, which is way "simpler" than that. But this is how I do it, my way of expressing, and I try to do my best.
> 
> So I hope you'll enjoy this chapter anyway.

He takes the jacket from her hands and puts it on the coat rack, then holds out his hand. After only a brief moment of hesitation, she takes it and he leads her back to the living room.

Felicity can’t help but notice how his larger hand engulfs hers. It’s so soft and warm and when he squeezes it lightly it makes her feel safe. This time, when she sits on the couch, he takes a seat next to her, his hand still holding hers.

She takes a deep breath and let it out slowly. “How do you think you can help me?”

“I… work for a secret agency called ARGUS.” He starts. He really shouldn’t talk about his job, but if he wants her to trust him, he needs to be honest with her.

Felicity frowns. “The Government Agency?”

“Yes… You’ve heard about it?” He’s surprised, it should be a ‘secret’ agency.

“I know stuff.” She says cryptically, but he lets it slide, they have more important things to discuss.

“I’ve been working for them for a long time, and even if our main goal is to stop terrorist attacks and mad men, we help people in need too.”

“People like me, you mean?”

“Yes.” He confirms. “I can help you, but I need to know what is going on and how it all started.”

Felicity hesitates. It’s not that she doesn’t believe him, because she does, she even _trusts_ him, but… She’s also scared. Oliver obviously understands that and tightens his hold on her hand.

“I will help you, and we’ll stop this man. Together.” He promises.

She closes her eyes, and when she opens them again, she looks at him. “We met a few months ago. I was having a pretty bad day… My supervisor, he was an idiot who didn’t know how to do his job, and at the office he was always messing around with girls. He was a pig, leering and groping.” She grimaces at the memory.

“That day he was no different. He was so busy with his perverted stares, that for over an hour he didn’t notice the company was being hacked -I worked in the IT Department at Kord Industries.” She informs him. “He didn’t notice, and the hackers needed to be stopped, which I was able to do, _alone_. When I confronted him about his negligence, he… ‘proposed’ to forget about my outburst if I gave him head.” She said disgusted. “When I said no, he went straight to the CEO, told him that _I_ disrespected him and _I_ offered myself to him to keep him quiet. That afternoon I immediately received a letter of reprimand and a complaint from the HR Department.”

She shakes her head in disbelief and Oliver can see how that is still bothering her. She did nothing wrong and was accused of those things when she was the victim. He also gets the feeling that she’s a model employee, too smart for the position of a simple IT Girl. She could probably be the CEO of that company. When she lets out a frustrated sigh, Oliver focuses back on her story.

“He messed up, I was being harassed, and _I_ end up being the bad person. I was so angry about it.” She shakes her head, still feeling that anger. “That night I decided to go out with my friends, and we went to a club. That’s where I met him.” Her voice grows quiet at the end of the sentence.

“The man that was in your car?” He asks her and she nods.

“His name is Adrian. Adrian Chase.” She takes a deep breath as his name leaves a bad taste in her mouth. “My friends were having fun, but I wasn’t feeling like dancing, so I just sat at the bar alone until he approached me. It was already my third drink and I knew I was getting drunk, but when he started to talk, he seemed nice and… I just needed someone who could listen. And he was pretty supportive… as he bought me drink after drink. I was okay with that, I wanted to get drunk…”

Oliver gently squeezes her hand. “But…?”

“I didn’t realize that Adrian wasn’t drinking anything, so he was only getting _me_ drunk.” She shakes her head. “But that’s not important, as I said, I was okay with that. The problem is that when I drink, I say things I shouldn’t say.”

When she goes quiet again, she seems to get lost in her own head, but Oliver doesn’t pressure her to talk. He patiently waits until she’s ready to continue.

“I told him that my supervisor was a perverted idiot, told him that I could very easily access his personal computer and mess around just for fun, if I wanted. I wasn’t going to do that, I’m not so petty. But I could do that, and he wouldn’t even notice.” She says. “At the moment I didn’t see it, but as we spoke, Adrian continuously prompted me to talk about the problem. It was like he really wanted me to talk about my supervisor, but I was so focused on my rage that I didn’t realize it.”

She’s a certified genius, but when Felicity thinks back to that night… she really doubts that’s true. No smart woman would ever get herself in this situation.

“So, Adrian threatened to tell everything and that’s why he’s forcing you to do all of this?” Oliver asks her gently.

“That’s what happened the next day. He called me -I have no idea how he got my number- and said he was going to spill the beans to my boss if I didn’t pay him. He was asking way too much money and I couldn’t afford it, so he suggested the prostitute solution.” She swallows hard at the memory. “I told him no. Two days later I went to work and Mr. Kord, the CEO himself, called me in his office… There was my supervisor too, and they showed me the video they just received. Adrian had filmed everything.” A single tear runs down her cheek. “From our conversation at the club, to when later… when we had sex in his car.” She finishes quietly.

Oliver watches as another tear falls from her eye, quickly followed by many others.

“I had no idea he filmed everything.”

Her voice shakes and Oliver pulls her closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, his hand gently rubs her arm hoping to comfort her. She silently cries, still looking down at the floor, shame covering her features.

“Did he force you to do that?” He quietly asks her, and she shakes her head.

“No. I was drunk, but I was lucid enough to decide what I wanted to do. He didn’t take advantage of me or anything, and we both agreed it was just a one-time thing. But from the video it was clear that I was pretty drunk. According to my boss that showed unethical behavior, -the getting drunk part and the hacking thing- and it supported the accusations my supervisor made about me, that I easily offered myself to him.” She scoffs. “Do you have any idea how humiliating it was to stand there in front of them watching me do to Adrian… do exactly what that pervert of my supervisor asked me to do a few days earlier?”

Oliver shakes his head. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

“I was told that I wasn’t fit to work at the company anymore.” She continued. “And that afternoon Adrian called me. He was laughing.”

“What a bastard.” Oliver mumbled to himself, but she heard him.

“That’s not all. He suggested once again that I should prostitute myself to give him money, in exchange he was going to make that video disappear. His plan already worked, I got fired, so I refused again.” Felicity takes another deep breath. “I started to look for another job, but every time I had an interview, that video sooner or later showed up. Needless to say, the only ‘jobs’ I was offered had nothing to do with the actual job position or what I applied for.” More tears slipped from her cheeks. “People considered me unprofessional and called me a slut many times.”

Oliver releases an angry breath. _How can people be so mean and disrespectful?_ She did nothing wrong and lost her job, and her reputation was slowly being destroyed too. And all because an asshole didn’t do his job and harassed her.

“I admit that I hacked Adrian’s computer to get rid of the video.” She confesses, still looking down at the floor, her free hand fidgeting with the hem of her dress. “The problem is that he kept the video offline, so what I did was useless. And after a few months, I started to struggle. I couldn’t find a job because every single time Adrian sent the video. My bank account was quickly draining...”

More tears fall down her cheeks.

“He offered me a one-time deal. I had to sleep with only one client and then we were done, he was going to destroy the video.” She shakes her head. “He lied. He has other copies.”

Oliver quietly clears his throat. “How many times did he make you do that?” He asks, fearing her answer.

She looks up at him then, her eyes stare deeply into his. “You were the first and only.”

A part of him is relieved that she didn’t have to go through that other times, but another part of him feels like shit. He runs his free hand down his face, closing his eyes as he thinks about what he did.

“Was it that obvious?” She asks in a small voice, which makes him look at her again.

“What?”

“That I’m not a professional…” She says hesitantly, grimacing at the word. “Was I that bad-”

He shakes his head. “No, Megan, I… I think you were amazing, but that’s… that’s not what- Damn it.” Oliver closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “Yesterday, when I asked you if you were being forced to be there with me, you said no. But now you tell me that you actually were, so I can’t help but think that I- that _I_ forced you to sleep with me and-”

“_No_.” Her answer is simple, but strong. “You didn’t force me to do anything. You gave me a choice, remember? You told me that I could just take the money and leave. At that moment… that was the first time in months that someone let _me_ choose what I wanted to do. And _I_ decided I _wanted_ to stay with you. I… I thought about it as a one-night stand rather than me being a prostitute.”

Oliver stares into her eyes, looking for any sign of doubt or uncertainty but he doesn’t find any. She’s telling the truth.

“I don’t usually do things like that, I’m not the type to have one-night stands, but… _trust me_, Oliver. Last night, I wanted it as much as you did.” She insists.

“I’m so sorry for my part in this.” He tells her.

“You don’t have to apologize for anything, Oliver. I mean it.”

After a moment, he nods, believing her. “Alright. But… you came here tonight.” He whispers. “I gave a different name and a different address, but you still came, not knowing it was me again. Why? What happened to the one-time deal Adrian offered to you?”

She sighs. “Well, I didn’t even know your name, he organized everything.” She informs him. “And when you saw him last night in my car, that’s when he told me he has more copies of the video, and that… I have to continue this.”

“I won’t let that happen.” Oliver promises, his hand squeezes hers as the other gently cups her cheek.

It’s then that he sees them. Barely noticeable, but still visible from up close, the small bruises from where Adrian gripped her hard, just before he forcefully kissed her. Oliver’s thumb carefully traces the finger shaped bruise.

“I wanted to get there and get his vile hands off of you.” He tells her lowly. “I wanted to help you, but I didn’t know if he was armed and could get you even more hurt. Still, I promised myself that at the next wrong move, I was going to intervene.”

Felicity feels the anger coming off of him in waves and she’s touched by his words, as his fingertips barely graze her skin, the touch so gentle. She leans into his hand and closes her eyes.

After months, it’s the first time that she feels safe.

When she opens her eyes again, Oliver is already looking at her. Slowly he lowers his hand, cupping her neck, then it grazes her shoulder, her arm, until it rests at his side. His right hand still holds hers though.

He quietly clears his throat. “So… he said that he wants you to continue this?”

And just like that the moment is broken.

She focuses back on the conversation and nods. “Yeah. He called me this morning to tell me about tonight. At first, I refused and repeated that I didn’t want to do this again.” She shakes her head. “I know that none of the people he’d get me an appointment with are ever going to be as respectful and careful as you were,” she takes a deep breath, “but he threatened me again with the video, and, somehow, he knew that today I was at Palmer Technologies for an interview. I _need_ that job, Oliver.” Her breath hitches. “I don’t know how long I can go on with what I have left.”

Felicity knows she’s on the verge of crying, telling her story out loud just makes it more real and scarier, but Oliver is there with her. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her close until her head rests against his shoulder.

“Shh, it’s going to be okay. I will help you.” He tells her soothingly.

“I don’t know how you can do that.” She admits. “Who knows how many copies he has of that video, he’ll keep sending them wherever I try to get a job at. In the meantime, without a job I won’t earn money, which means I have to find other ways to get it… and with him involved, that means prostitution.”

“We’ll find another way.” Oliver insists. “For now, I’ll give you the money for tonight, so he won’t suspect anything. And then tomorrow-”

She shakes her head as she sits up straight. “No, I can’t take your money. I already owe you what you paid yesterday-”

“You don’t owe me anything, Megan.” He reassures her. “I’m mad that he took all of that instead of leaving it to you, but, otherwise, I don’t care about the money. I knew what I was doing when I gave it to you.”

“I know, but-”

“And we’ll find a way to stop him.” He continues before she has the chance to feel guilty about the money. “We’ll stop him, and you will get the perfect job, the one you deserve. A workplace where you will be respected and won’t be treated as the bad person.”

Felicity looks up at him and she immediately knows he really thinks all that. She wants to believe it too and wants to believe that they will stop him soon, but Adrian outsmarted her every time she thought she had the upper hand. She might be a genius, but, somehow, she can’t outsmart him.

Maybe help is what she really needs.

“Why do you care so much about someone you don’t even know?” The question is out of her mouth before she realizes it.

Oliver gives her a soft smile. “Because I can see you’re a good woman, and no one deserves to be put through all of this, especially if it’s not their choice.”

Her eyes stare into his and the tension between them is there again, as strong as it was the night before. They don’t know how it is possible that after only one night together they feel this pull, this electricity, but they do. They’re just not sure what to do about it.

What they’re sure about though, is that they can’t stop thinking about last night.

When the silence stretches on, Oliver can’t stand it anymore. _I need to know._

“Why did you thank me?” He quietly says.

“Last night?” She asks, and he nods. His eyes are boring into hers, and Felicity is sure he’s staring into her soul. “Because you’ve been nothing but respectful with me. I could’ve ended up with someone violent or a psycho, instead I got so lucky it was you. You knew what my ‘profession’ was, but you treated me like we were in a relationship or something like that, and you made it a wonderful experience instead of something I wanted to forget. You… you made me feel loved.” She adds shyly. “I mean, love is a strong word for two people who just met, but… that’s how you made me feel. Loved.”

Oliver nods. “It’s what I was trying to do.” He confirms. “I wanted to take care of you. Sex should be more than just pleasure. It’s about feelings, about wanting to put the other’s needs before your own, and create a connection, even between strangers.” His deep blue eyes seem to become darker. “I felt it with you, the connection.”

“I felt it too.” She quickly responds.

It makes him smile. It’s a small one, but it’s there before he turns serious again. “Some people forget that’s what really matters in a relationship. But they just see what’s in front of them and ignore everything else.”

His words are cryptical. He’s obviously talking about something personal, but Felicity isn’t sure if he’s okay talking about it. Still, she can’t help herself with her next question.

“Is that why you hired me last night?” She asks tentatively. “People don’t see you for who you really are?”

Oliver finds himself smiling at her. They might be strangers, but it’s like she knows him better than anyone else already. “Something like that, yeah.”

She nods and looks away, her expression tells him she’s thinking about that but she doesn’t press him any further. He appreciates that, he really does, but she’s been honest with him. The least he can do is be honest with her too.

“I’ve been working at ARGUS for a long time.” He starts, causing her to look at him again. “At first, I was a simple agent in charge of gathering information we needed, and after a while they started to send me out in the field, undercover.” He takes a deep breath for what comes next. “Dealing with psychopaths and terrorists it’s not easy, and I’ve found myself in the line of fire too many times to count. All of that changed me, I wasn’t the same careless guy anymore. I grew up and started to see life under a different light.”

“I can’t even imagine how life changing that must’ve been.” She says as her hand tightens around his. “But it’s only natural that you’re not the same man as before.”

Oliver nods. “I know, and I’ve accepted it… My ex-girlfriends not so much.” He remembers vividly their reactions. The nasty comments, the disgusted faces, their backs when they left. “All those experiences left emotional scars on me… as well as physical ones.” He murmurs, pulling at his shirt when it suddenly feels too tight around his chest.

_So that’s why he wanted to keep his shirt on last night._ Felicity thinks. _He has scars and is ashamed of them after someone rejected him._

“Oliver, if they didn’t accept you for who you are, all of you, then they didn’t deserve you.” She tells him gently.

“I don’t blame them. I… I have PTSD.” He confesses. “Panic attacks, nightmares… anger issues. I easily lose control.”

The more he speaks the more Felicity starts to understand. “Did you ever hurt them?” She asks, even though somehow, she’s sure the answer will be negative.

Oliver turns sharply to look at her, panic covering his features. “No! God, no, I’ve never laid a hand on them. I’ve never hurt an innocent person in my life. Only bad people when it was part of my job, but even then, I only did what was necessary.” He shakes his head. He can’t let her believe that he’s violent. “No, all I do is punch a wall or flip over a table. I don’t hurt the people I care about.”

She nods in understanding. “I believe you. My question was just to make you see what you might be ignoring.”

He frowns. “Which is what?”

“That they wanted an easy way out.” She simply tells him. “You didn’t scare them off, they just didn’t want to stay and help you through the hard times because it was too much to handle. _Or_, they just cared about themselves, put their own needs before yours, when -from what I understand- you always put them first. That means that they didn’t really love you, because if they did, they would’ve stayed by your side instead of abandoning you when you needed them.”

Oliver stares at her like she just turned his world upside down. He never saw it like that. Yes, he knows that dealing with him is a lot to handle, but he always thought that they loved him, that maybe they just couldn’t stand to see him damaged or, in the worst-case scenario, that he made them afraid of him.

_Maybe you shouldn’t come with me at the mall. _McKenna told him once._ There will be a lot of people, and we both know you’ll have a panic attack because of that. It’ll be quicker if I go alone._

_You need to put your shirt on. Everyone is staring at us._ Susan had said one day at the beach.

_My friend knows this plastic surgeon who did an amazing job to remove a scar she had on her back._ Laurel’s voice echoes in his head. _It wasn’t as bad as yours, so the result won’t be perfect, but he can at least make them look decent._

The snarky comments were a constant in all his relationships. Comments that, he realizes only now, he didn’t deserve. Because, unlike them, he was always there to support them.

When McKenna was offered a job in another city, he was ready to drop everything to follow her. She told him it was best if she went by herself because big changes might trigger panic attacks in him and she didn’t have time for that.

When Susan struggled to find new stories to write about, he tried to help her in every way he could, even risking to lose his job with the information he gave her, but she dismissed whatever he proposed as ‘useless’.

When Laurel started to have a problem with alcohol he stood by her side, no matter how many times she pushed him away. It wasn’t enough and she still left him, blaming him for her addiction.

_I’m an idiot._ He thinks.

“I’m sorry,” he hears Megan say quietly, “I shouldn’t have said that.”

Oliver shakes his head. “No, I believe you’re right. It probably meant nothing for them, and as soon as my PTSD showed up… they got scared it might always be like that. It was clear that an easy relationship with me was not a possibility, so… they took their chance and left. They only cared about themselves, and took the easy way out, blaming me for everything.”

She lightly squeezes his hand. “It’s their loss. I see you’re a good man, and I believe you can love a partner with every fiber of your being. You deserve someone who can do the same for you.”

For the first time in years, Oliver feels his heart skip a beat. She didn’t say those words just to console him, she said them because she really means them. She _believes_ them. And it finally feels like he deserves some kind of happiness without feeling selfish.

As he stares at her he feels it again. The connection. He just opened up on the one thing he’s the most ashamed about and she didn’t look at him disgusted, she didn’t make some snarky comment, she didn’t leave. No, she showed him the truth and didn’t laugh at him for believing a lie for so long. She just sat there with him and supported him.

She stayed when he needed someone.

The air changes around them. It gets heavy with tension as her eyes search his, trying to understand what’s going on in his head. She must know what his thoughts are because her expression changes and her tongue wet her lips, causing his eyes to fall on them.

When their eyes meet again, _they_ _know it_.

There’s something between them.

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I stopped there!! I really didn't want to cut here, but the chapter was becoming so long... so you'll have what comes next in the next chapter!!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are! I want to thank again everyone who follows this story. I see in the comments that you're enjoying it, and I'm so happy about it!
> 
> Now, without further ado, let's continue what we interrupted in the last chapter...

They stare at each other and they _feel it_.

It’s a pull, as if they’re attracted by a magnet and they can’t fight it. When she starts to lean toward him, he does the same. Their movements are slow as they gauge each other’s reaction.

They both want this.

When only a few inches separate them, Felicity closes her eyes and, as soon as their lips touch, Oliver does the same. The touch is gentle and it makes them both sigh.

With an arm wrapped around her middle, Oliver pulls her closer and, as if it is the most natural thing she’s ever done, Felicity straddles him, her hands cupping his cheeks. She opens her mouth and lightly nibbles his lower lip, Oliver responds in kind and their tongues meet in languid strokes.

Her hips slowly move against him, searching for friction, and soon his body reacts to her.

“Megan…” He whispers against her.

He starts to place soft kisses on her neck, but she shakes her head. “No.”

Oliver freezes when she pulls back, and he’s afraid that he misunderstood the situation. “I’m sorry, you…”

Her hands softly run over his stubbled cheeks and then entwine at the nape of his neck as she stares into his eyes.

“Felicity.”

The worry leaves his body and he relax again when she smiles at him. “Felicity?” He asks, tasting the way her name rolls around his tongue.

She nods. “Megan is my middle name.”

Oliver sighs. “Felicity…” He repeats. “I like it. It suits you.”

Her smile widens and she feels a soft blush cover her cheeks. She feels a sense of freedom now that he knows her last secret.

He knows her story, and she knows his. They may not know everything, but the barrier between them is finally gone.

Her fingers play with the short hair at the base of his neck, making him close his eyes with a sigh. Felicity studies his face and sees how relaxed he is after the conversation, finally free of a burden he seems to have carried for a long time.

She has no idea why someone would ever abandon him like that when he needed them the most, and that makes her sad for him. He really seems like a nice person, very caring and loving.

Of course, she doesn’t know the full extent of his PTSD, but if those women left him without a care and made him feel even more insecure… She understands why he’d call a stranger to spend the night with him. That way he can’t get emotionally hurt.

And tonight, even if it started with a similar call and he doesn’t expect her to do what Adrian is forcing her to do, Felicity wants to be there for him. She wants to show him that he shouldn’t be ashamed of himself or whatever scars he carries. Tonight, she wants to take care of him, the same way Oliver took care of her last night.

As Oliver keeps his eyes closed, he can feel her thinking. Just when he starts to think that maybe she will leave too, he feels her lips against his again. He sighs at the gentle touch as warmth spreads through his chest.

His arms tighten around her waist and she moves her hips again, while her tongue searches his in a slow kiss and with her nails she lightly scratches his stubble, making him shiver. His hands travel down her back and palm her thighs, until he reaches the hem of her dress that has ridden up quite a bit when she straddled him.

Oliver pulls back slightly and searches her eyes, which immediately find his. They are dark, and he can barely see the blue anymore.

“Before we go any further, I need you to know that I’m not expecting anything from you.” He tells her. “I will help you, no matter what. I don’t want anything in exchange.”

Felicity nods. “I know. But this is not for that. I… I’m not sure what _this_ is,” she confesses, “but… Last night was probably the best night I’ve ever had, and it was all thanks to you. You made me feel safe and even important. I want to give you the same thing.”

_You deserve someone who can do the same for you._

Those are the words she used just minutes ago, talking about him loving a partner with every fiber of his being. Maybe he’s reading too much into this, but he gets the feeling that she might be that person, that partner.

It’s crazy, because they’ve known each other for just a few hours, but he can’t deny the attraction between them. It’s more than just physical attraction. Sure, she’s beautiful, but he feels like she already understands him so much better than most people. And that’s more important than anything else.

“That is, if you want it too, of course.” Felicity adds.

She feels his want right between her legs, but his body reaction doesn’t necessarily mean he wants to go any further.

But then Oliver smiles at her. “I would really like to.”

She can’t fight it, and a smile shows on her face too. When he leans closer, he closes his eyes as his slightly parted lips rest a few inches away from her, giving her the chance to close the gap between them and kiss him again.

Their hands continue to explore each other’s body, and soon Felicity’s dress is pulled up around her waist. Her underwear does nothing to hide her desire and she feels the wetness increase the more he gives her attention.

With an arm secured around her middle, he turns and lays her back on the couch. He covers her with his body and pushes his hips against hers, their bodies are still covered, but they can feel the pleasure slowly building with each thrust.

Oliver kisses down her neck as his hand slips between their bodies and into her panties. He teases her with just his fingertips and Felicity reaches down to cup him through his pants. They’re both breathing heavily, and when he slips two fingers inside her, it makes her gasp.

He starts slow, his fingers slightly curl to reach the spot that makes her see stars behind her closed eyelids. Oliver pleasures her as his mouth leaves warm kisses along her neck, nibbles her earlobe and finds her mouth again. Felicity tries to pleasure him too using her hand to cup him and lightly squeeze him, but his skilled fingers are too distracting and she can’t focus.

“Oliver…” She moans, causing him to smile against her.

He picks up the pace, his fingers thrust into her a little faster as he applies more pressure on her clit, and soon she’s trembling underneath him. Her hands are on his back to pull him closer as she struggles to breathe, and he does his best to prolong her pleasure.

Small shivers are still running through her body, when she opens her eyes to look at him, a blush covering her cheeks as he removes his hand from her underwear.

“I’m sorry…” She mumbles. “It just felt too good, I couldn’t stop it.”

Oliver chuckles. “Why would you want to stop that?”

“I…” Felicity shrugs. “I don’t want this to be over so soon.”

“Who says we’re over?” He asks her cheekily, before he turns serious. “I think it’s like I said. It’s this connection we have that makes everything more intense. I know I have this feeling inside my chest, like my heart is threatening to burst out of it at any moment.” Oliver shakes his head in wonder. “I don’t know why, but I’ve never felt like this before.”

Felicity relaxes in his embrace. “That makes two of us.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

They smile at each other, and when Felicity feels him still hard against her leg, she decides it’s his turn. She pushes him slightly to the side to turn them around, but the couch is not wide enough for what they’re doing, so they end up on the floor. Oliver takes the brunt of the fall and, on instinct, he rolls them over until he’s on top, covering her body with his. When they’re still again, they look at each other and laugh.

It feels so good to laugh. For a moment, they feel like they have nothing to worry about, like they’re an ordinary couple, completely at ease in each other’s embrace.

Oliver rests his forehead against hers as they continue to smile. “Maybe we should take this upstairs?” He proposes.

Felicity hums. “I don’t know, this carpet is pretty comfy...” Her hands run over his back. “We have a fire right next to us...” Her lips graze his. “And there’s the two of us... That’s all we need.”

He presses his lips against hers, still smiling, before he pulls back again. “I don’t think we have enough room though.” He says indicating the coffee table that takes up a big part of the carpet.

Felicity huffs and pouts, which makes him smile wider. “Okay, maybe you’re right on that.” She concedes.

Oliver softly laughs and stands, holding out his hands to her. She takes them and he helps her to stand up. After making sure the fire won’t cause any troubles, his right hand wraps around her left and he leads her up the stairs and to his bedroom.

For what she can see, the whole house is amazing, and the bedroom isn’t any different. It’s spacious and cozy at the same time. A soft light is already on, and it creates an almost romantic atmosphere. There’s a couch too, but what takes up most part of the room is the king size bed, obviously.

Oliver leads her to the end of the bed, where he stops and turns to her. “We still don’t have to do anything. No one is forcing us.”

Felicity starts to get the feeling that maybe he doesn’t want to go any further.

_Maybe it’s for what those women made him think of himself? Maybe they told him that no one would ever accept him for who he is or what he’s been through?_

Before he can take her silence in the wrong way, Felicity wraps her arms around his neck and stares into his darkened eyes. “I know. This is our choice, not Adrian’s or anyone else’s. It’s _our_ choice.” She repeats. “And my choice is that I want to continue, I’m sure of it. So... What’s yours?”

Her words make him relax and he believes that she wants it as much as he does. “I would really like to make love to you.” He tells her softly, which makes her smile.

Oliver leans down and softly kisses her lips, his hands skating up and down her arms make goosebumps cover her skin. Her tongue swipes over his bottom lip and Oliver takes his opportunity to meet her with his in a slow, sensual kiss.

Somehow, she’s still carrying her purse and Oliver gently pulls it over her shoulder until it drops to the floor. His hands find the zip of her dress on the back and with his expert fingers he pulls it down in one swift move.

Felicity takes a small step back and searches his eyes. She gives him a nod and he slowly drags the straps down her shoulders, the dress falls down at her feet and she steps out of it, getting rid of her heels at the same time. Without them, she’s way shorter than him, his imposing body with broad shoulders and muscled chest should make her feel fragile, instead it makes her feel safe, protected.

Oliver’s eyes roam over her naked body as she wears only her thong, and his stare is anything but unwelcomed. He doesn’t make her feel uncomfortable, it’s a soft look as he takes her in, then his eyes find hers again and he cups her cheeks with his hands.

“You’re gorgeous.” Oliver whispers as he leans down to kiss her.

She’s never felt like this with her ex-boyfriends, let alone with someone she’s known for only a few hours. Yet, somehow, she finds herself thanking Adrian for sending her to Oliver last night, which is a fucked-up thought, but... She’s just so glad she’s with Oliver right now.

Felicity roams her hands over his chest, feeling the rippling muscles underneath his shirt before she unbuttons his jeans and pulls down the zip. He helps her to get rid of them before she looks up at him, her hands once again over his chest.

“Do you want to keep it on?” She asks as she lightly tugs his shirt.

His body tenses and his mind goes back to what other women told him about his scars. Oliver doesn’t want to disgust her, or even worse, scare her. For some reason, he doesn’t want to lose her, and he knows that seeing him shirtless will show her how damaged he is. And that is only on the physical side...

“Hey,” she calls him quietly when he doesn’t respond, “it’s okay if you want to keep it. Just know that it won’t change how I see you.”

_Yes, it will. _

Oliver sighs. “Leave it on, please.” He decides in the end.

She nods. “Okay.”

Felicity hoped he’d trust her, but she can’t blame him. They’re still getting to know each other, it’s normal that he needs time before he can do that, especially after others seem to have poorly treated him. But she won’t insist if that will make him uncomfortable.

Instead, she uncurls her fingers and runs them down his chest, feeling the defined muscles through his clothes. He’s still a little tense, but when she kisses him again, he relaxes and responds to the kiss without hesitation.

Oliver secures an arm around her, carefully walks her backwards until her legs touch the bed and lays her down. He crawls on top of her, kissing between her breast while with his hands he helps her to remove her panties, quickly followed by his underwear.

He kneels on the floor and settles between her legs, ready to pleasure her like yesterday, but Felicity reaches out with her hands and silently asks him to go back on top of her again. He obliges and rests his body over hers, keeping most of his weight off of her.

“You alright?” He checks and she nods.

“I just want to see you.” Felicity says, leaving a soft kiss on his lips, then his cheek, and then again on his jaw, before her lips brush against his ear. “Besides… I seem to remember this is your turn.” She whispers.

Her words cause a shiver to run through his body, and soon Felicity is pushing against him, silently telling him to lay on the bed as she straddles him again. Her hands are on his chest, while his are on her waist. She kisses him again, her tongue runs over his bottom lip before she moves further down to kiss his jaw, his neck, his covered chest and abs.

Her hands run over his thighs as she stares up at him, a soft smile on her lips as she raises her eyebrows in question. Oliver just nods when he’s unable to form words, and Felicity focuses on his hardened length. She first kisses his inner thighs, making his legs shake at the soft contact, before she slowly takes him in her mouth.

Oliver closes his eyes at the sensation, resting his head on the mattress. It’s been a long time since he received some oral, and her wet mouth on him drives him crazy. He opens his eyes again, wanting to see her, and she’s already looking at him with darkened eyes.

For a long minute, they keep eye contact as she continues to pleasure him.

The sight is enough to build up his pleasure and before it ends too soon, he cups her cheeks and pulls her on top of him again. “Come here.” He quietly says.

Oliver kisses her with all his might and is glad when Felicity responds with equal fervor. Never breaking the kiss, he rolls them around and presses her against the bed with his body.

Pulling back slightly so they can catch their breaths, Oliver stares down at her and in just a few seconds he can feel his heartbeat speed up even more, for some reason. He leans down and captures her lips in another passionate kiss that seems to go on for ages, his arms wrap around her waist and hers around his neck to hold him close.

He moves their bodies to the middle of the bed, and Felicity shivers as his erection brushes right where she needs him. Oliver pulls away just enough to grab a condom from his nightstand and puts it on, then he’s back on top of her.

“You still sure about this?” He asks.

Felicity sighs. “This is the _only_ thing I’m sure about right now. Everything else is uncertain and scary… but this feels right.”

He nods, feeling the same way, before he takes her hand in his where it rests near her head as he slowly slides in. Their eyes never look away from each other, and they barely blink as soft gasps leave both their lips.

When Oliver starts to move, Felicity runs her fingers through his hair and pulls him down for a kiss. Their breaths mingle together, tongues tasting each other, hands caressing anywhere within their reach, bodies moving in sync.

Oliver relish in the feeling of her caring hands as they run over his back, through his hair, over his cheeks. He has no idea if he’ll have another chance at this, so he enjoys every second of it.

And Felicity does the same. In a moment when everything else is unknown, she focuses on his gentle thrusts, his warm kisses on her lips and neck, his arms holding her and keeping her safe in his embrace.

Without saying a word, she presses a hand against his shoulder and he rolls them over. With Felicity on top, he can’t help but look at her and admire her beauty. She’s sitting on his lap, sensually swaying her hips, a red blush covers her neck and cheeks as her breaths leave her parted lips.

Oliver can’t resist and sits up to kiss her as his arms wrap around her middle. Her hands once again travel down his back but she doesn’t try to push them under his shirt, not for fear of what she might feel, but to respect his wish.

When he tenses, Felicity knows something is bothering him, but she has no idea of what it is. She slightly pulls away and looks at him.

“Are you alright?” She asks him concerned cradling his cheeks.

Oliver doesn’t know what to answer. He wants to tell her that he’s okay, but he can’t. He can’t because his chest suddenly feels constricted as if he’s wearing a straitjacket, his breathing comes out in fast pants and he starts to sweat. But all of that is not related to what they’re doing.

It’s a panic attack, he knows it is, just like he knows he can’t stop it, so before it can get worse, he struggles to take off his shirt, and only when it hits the floor Oliver closes his eyes, finally breathing properly.

Cool air hits his flushed skin and fresh oxygen enters his lungs, as he focuses on slowing down his unsteady heartbeat. It’s a task he’s unable to accomplish because now he’s bared in front of Felicity, his scars in full display and he doesn’t have the courage to look at her, fearing what he will see.

Felicity, on the other hand, can’t look away from him. When she ran her hands over his shirt earlier, she felt what she guessed were patches of raised skin, the scars he told her about, but she didn’t realize there were so many.

On his chest, she recognizes bullet wounds, burns and cuts from knives, maybe even swords if the size of some scars is any indication. Most of them look old and healed, but some are still a reddish-pink which means they’re fairly recent. The sight of it makes her swallow hard.

Oliver told her he had to deal with psychopaths and mad men, but seeing the full extent of his words… it makes her shiver. She can’t help the way her hand trembles as she covers a wound on his left pec while the other cups his cheek.

He holds his breath as he waits for her reaction, his eyes tightly shut. When he feels her fingers softly caress the bullet wound that almost made him bleed out years ago, Oliver’s eyes open on their own accord.

Felicity is looking down at his chest with tears in her eyes, but she doesn’t seem disgusted or afraid. She seems sad.

Before he can say a word, she’s pulling him closer, hugging him to her chest. She runs her hand through his hair, making him sigh as her free arm wraps around his shoulders, her hand covering another scar on his back.

When Felicity looks down, she sees more scars and she has to close her eyes to fight the sudden pain she feels in her chest. She hides her face in the crook of his neck as silent tears fall from her eyes.

Oliver feels them hit his skin and he realizes that she’s crying for him. “Felicity?”

He’s grateful that he didn’t scare her off, but he didn’t expect such a reaction. He’s used to the rejection and the disgust, but none of his ex-girlfriends ever cried for him. When Felicity tightens her hold on him, he finally reacts and wraps his arms around her middle, feeling a weight leave his chest as they continue to hold each other for who knows how long.

“If you think this changes how I see you, you couldn’t be more wrong.” Felicity whispers against his collarbone.

“And how do you see me?” Oliver asks hesitantly.

She pulls back to stare into his eyes. “I see a strong man who survived in a line of work that deals with life and death situations on a daily basis. I see a brave man who did everything he could to stay alive. And I see a kind man who truly wants to protect and save people at any cost.” She shakes her head in wonder. “I don’t know how people could see you any differently.”

Her words slowly register in his mind and they bring tears to his eyes. When one slips down his cheek, she runs her thumb over it as her eyes roam over his face. Felicity leans close and softly places her lips against his, her warm breath washes over him and a sense of calm invades his body.

When she pulls back, Oliver searches her eyes. “Thank-”

“Don’t, Oliver.” She interrupts him. “You don’t have to thank me.”

“You didn’t run away.” He says as an explanation. “You stayed and didn’t make me feel ashamed of myself. So, _thank you_, Felicity. For making me feel human again.”

Her throat tightens at his sincere words and she’s unable to speak. Instead, she leans down and kisses him again, trying to show him that his scars don’t scare her, that they don’t change anything between them. Whatever that is.

Her hands don’t skip over the rough skin on his back, instead she caresses them in the hope to alleviate his pain.

And it does help him. It’s like she’s healing them with her caring touch, washing away the bad memories implanted in his mind.

Oliver secures her in his arms and turns them around so he’s once again on top of her, as he resumes his slow movements, his thrusts slow and gentle. Just like the kisses she’s giving him.

Emotions running high, it takes them no time to get close to their release. Oliver’s hands search hers and he entwines their fingers. He leans back enough to stare into her eyes, and they can’t look away from each other.

Felicity squeezes his hands as she wraps her legs around his waist, making him go deeper, and soon they’re trembling together, shallow breaths mixing with soft moans.

They try to prolong their pleasure as much as they can, but they’re both tired, physically and emotionally, so when their bodies can’t take it anymore, Oliver slips out of her, barely getting rid of the condom before he collapses next to her.

Oliver turns to her and sees she’s already looking at him.

“What are we going to do with Adrian?” She whispers, and her voice slightly trembles.

He pulls her closer until she’s resting her head on his chest and his arms are wrapped securely around her. “Tomorrow we’ll talk about it. Don’t worry now.”

“But he’s-”

Oliver kisses the top of her head. “We’ll figure it out. For now, just sleep.”

Felicity sighs and relaxes next to him, her hand rests on his abdomen and her fingers unconsciously run over one of his scars.

“Can I tell you one thing about your body, though?” She asks, already half asleep.

He tenses slightly, but does his best to keep calm. “Yeah?”

“You have amazing abs.” Felicity mumbles.

It takes him a few seconds to register her words, and when they do, he chuckles, a wide smile on his lips.

“Thank you.” He whispers, but Felicity is already sleeping, her breaths slow and deep.

Oliver kisses her head as he fumbles around to pull the covers over their bodies without waking her up. The feeling of skin against skin relaxes him in a way that he has missed in the last few years, and soon he’s falling asleep too.

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo... do you feel the connection?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! I seem to understand that you enjoyed reading last chapter! I won't keep you waiting, so enjoy this one as well...

The room is dark, the sun hasn’t come up yet but a soft light comes through the closed curtains.

Oliver is still sleeping, but Felicity is awake. She’s still pressed against him, his arm a heavy but welcomed weight around her back, and she’s lazily running her fingers over his chest. She woke up around an hour ago, but she couldn’t fall back asleep, too much going on in her head.

She’s worried about Adrian and she has no idea of what Oliver is going to do to help her, but, strangely, that’s not what worries her the most.

Felicity can’t stop wondering about what he’s been through, whatever happened to him that left him with so many scars. She’s not bothered by their presence, something Oliver was clearly worried about, but every time she discovers a new one, she feels her chest tighten. For a long time, he must’ve been so afraid to show himself to others, ashamed of what they might think of him, when in reality those scars represent strength, courage and selflessness. He received them trying to protect people, his city, maybe even the world, and all he got from others was rejection.

The thought of how alone he must’ve been, makes her scoot even closer to him.

She’s still exploring his scars when he takes a deep breath, turning his face in her direction, his eyes slowly blinking open.

And she’s there. Felicity is still there next to him. He felt her hands on him as he was waking up, but to actually see her lying there… it makes him smile.

“Morning.” He says, his voice still coated with sleep.

Felicity looks up at him and shyly smiles. “Hi… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay.” Oliver wraps his arms more firmly around her and enjoys the feeling of having her pressed up against him. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah… but it’s almost time for me to go.” She says quietly. The last thing she wants to do is leave the safety of Oliver’s arms.

He can feel her tense just at that thought and he runs his hands over her back trying to reassure her. “Everything is going to be fine. For now, I’ll give you the money he expects you to give to him, so he won’t suspect anything.”

“It’s wrong,” she says, “I don’t want your money.”

“I know, but if you go to him empty handed, Adrian will know something is up. And who knows what he might do to you…” It’s something Oliver doesn’t want to think about, so he quickly explains to her his plan. “I’m going to check in on ARGUS, see what I can find about this guy.”

“I’m not even sure if that’s his real name.” Felicity confesses.

“It probably isn’t. My guess is that he’s some sort of sex trafficker, and most likely you’re not the first person he deceives.”

Felicity shivers. “Why people do this? How can they be okay selling a person like that?”

“Money. It’s all about money for them.” Oliver can feel that she’s getting even more nervous, so he tries to reassure her. “I’ll talk to my boss, explain to her everything you told me.”

Felicity looks up at him, her eyes wide in shock. “You have to tell her how we met?”

People will know what she did, what she agreed to do. They’ll know that she’s unprofessional and a slut, like those people-

“Hey…” Oliver cups her cheek and stares into her eyes. “No one is going to judge you for what Adrian made you do. We know this kind of men, the lengths they will go just to get what they want. You didn’t know how to get out of a bad situation, so… you did as he asked.”

“Yeah.” She confirms, lowering her gaze, still embarrassed about it.

Oliver makes her look up at him again. “You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. You were in a bad situation and now we’re going to help you.”

“And… you’re not worried that they will know you hired… a prostitute?” Felicity asks him quietly.

“You’re not a prostitute.” He tells her firmly. “Adrian forced you to get money like this, and… you told me that you didn’t see the other night as something you had to do, but something you wanted. That makes our night together… just a night together. We were two consensual people, where the exchange of money didn’t matter, and it wasn’t sex without meaning. At least, for me it wasn’t without meaning.”

As Felicity stares into his eyes, she can see he really means what he just said. “I’m not sure what it was,” she confesses, “but… it wasn’t without meaning for me too.”

“And last night, I…” Oliver starts to say, but he has no idea how to continue. There are so many things that keep running through his mind, but he doesn’t know how to say them, or if he even should.

“For me it was something similar to the other night.” Felicity tells him. “I was in need of something real, something that was _my choice_. And maybe you were still in need of someone who wouldn’t judge your past. At least, that’s what I think, I don’t know if you-”

“No, you’re right.” He confirms. “I needed that. And… I got more than what I hoped. You made me feel human and not the shell of a man I’ve been for years. So, thank you.”

That first night she thanked him, and now he’s thanking her, again. Felicity’s heart speeds up at his words.

And Oliver’s does the same. If he could just admit that last night felt something more than what they just said…

A phone ringing interrupts them again, and the moment is gone.

“It’s mine.” Felicity informs him, getting off the bed to retrieve it from her purse.

Oliver stands and puts on his underwear before he makes his way to where she’s crouched on the floor.

“It’s my alarm. I still have an hour before I have to leave.” She says as she stands up again, turning to him. “I don’t want to be late again.”

He frowns when he sees an apprehensive look on her face. “Is that why Adrian got angry in your car? Because you were late?”

Felicity shrugs. “It was supposed to be an hour-long thing…”

“And you stayed for three hours because we fell asleep.” He concludes.

“Yeah,” she confirms, “but the money covered only two hours. He said I needed to ask the extra.”

Oliver closes his eyes as he pulls her close until they’re hugging. “I’m sorry, I should’ve thought about that.”

“You couldn’t have known. And nothing bad happened, so don’t worry about it.” Felicity tries to reassure him. “But I should get dressed now, so it won’t happen again.”

Oliver sighs. He wants to hold her close and never let go. He wants to protect her and keep her safe from that bastard.

“If I don’t go to him, he’ll know something is up.” Felicity reasons with him, knowing what is going through his mind. “You said it yourself.”

Oliver pulls back and cradles her cheeks, staring into her blue eyes. “Right now, I can’t just arrest him, I need proof to hold him. When I’ll have enough to send him to prison, I’ll personally handcuff him. But for now, you need to meet with him, give him the money, acknowledge whatever job he found for you and pretend you agree to it. Instead of meeting that client, you’ll come here and I’ll take you to ARGUS, where we’ll keep you safe as we get him.”

She breathes in, her hands tremble where they grip his wrists.

“I’ll keep you safe.” Oliver promises.

Felicity looks up at him and, staring into his deep blue eyes, she believes him. She believes he will try to keep her safe. She just doesn’t know if it’ll be enough to get her out of this mess.

“Okay.” She whispers in the end, taking a step back and gathering her clothes.

“Do you want some breakfast?” Oliver proposes. He knows he’s just trying to delay the inevitable, the moment she’ll have to walk out of his house, alone, to meet the man that is threatening her, but still…

Felicity checks her phone again and thinks about it. “Maybe just some coffee? If you don’t mind, I mean. I don’t want to impose more than I already am.”

“You’re not.” Oliver reassures her with a smile and a hand on her shoulder. “And I’ll make you something to eat too.”

→

He makes her an omelet, which she devours in just a few minutes.

“Did you ever think of becoming a professional chef?” She asks him. “Because this is amazing.”

Oliver chuckles as he eats his own omelet. “Actually, I did.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” He nods. “I liked cooking and found out that I was pretty good at it.”

“Then how did you go from chef to a secret agent?” She asks him, sipping on her coffee. His expression changes, and becomes troubled. Felicity worries that she might’ve said something wrong. “If you don’t want to tell me, that’s okay…”

“No, it’s fine.” He takes a deep breath as he holds her gaze. “One night, when I was twenty years old, I was going back home after a party… I lived in my family’s mansion, the place was huge with vast gardens.” He explains. “It was late and dark, and only a few security guards checked the perimeter. That night I drank quite a bit, but I clearly saw one of those security guards drag away someone in the distance, through the gardens. At first, I thought it was an intruder, but the more I watched the scene in front of me, the more something felt wrong. So, I started to walk in their direction…”

Oliver takes a deep breath as he looks down at his coffee mug. He raises his eyes again and finds Felicity’s.

“It was my sister. That man, who was supposed to keep us safe, was dragging away my little sister. She was thirteen. _Thirteen_.” His voice shakes. “He was trying to kidnap her to get ransom money.” Oliver shakes his head. “I ran over there and tried to stop him. He took out his gun and shot me, right here.”

He pulls down the collar of his shirt and shows her the bullet wound on his left pec, the one that almost caused him to bleed out, the one Felicity touched so softly last night.

“I don’t know exactly what happened next, I just remember people shouting after hearing the gunshot, the ambulance lights reflecting on the windows of the mansion. I remember my sister crying as she held my hand.” His throat tightens at the memory. “When I woke up in a hospital bed two days later, I promised myself that I wasn’t going to let something like that happen ever again. Not to my sister, not to any other innocent person. That day I decided I wanted to protect people in need.”

Felicity listens to his story and finds herself fighting the tears that collect in her eyes.

“Our world is full of bad people who are ready to do the unthinkable just to get money or fame or rule a country.” He continues. “I know it’s impossible to stop every single bad person, but I want to stop as many as I can and prevent bad things from happening to innocent people.”

Felicity reaches out and takes his hand. “That’s very selfless and admiring.” She tells him in a shaky voice. “Your family must be so proud of the man you’ve become.”

Oliver gives her a sad smile. “My sister is. She constantly tells me that I’m her hero. When I told her I was joining the Military to become who I am now, she was scared for me, but also proud, yes. My friend Tommy also supports my decisions, even if I don’t see him often because he’s in Chicago being a doctor… you know, McDreamy style.”

She smiles at his try to some humor, but she quickly sobers up at his unsaid words. “And your parents?”

He sighs. “They weren’t as happy as I hoped. I mean, they were proud that I saved my sister, but… they didn’t support my choices. Especially my father. He’s always wanted for me to become CEO of our family’s company, but business was never my thing.” He explains. “I’m still in contact with them, but our relationship is strained.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Felicity says, feeling how his parents’ disapproval still bothers him.

“I’m proud of my job.” Oliver tells her. “I know that what I do is important. I help people, and I wouldn’t change that for anything in the world.” He shakes his head. “If they can’t accept that, then I don’t know what to tell them.”

The room falls silent after that, both thinking about the conversation. It isn’t long before the silence is broken by another ringing of Felicity’s phone.

“I really need to get going.” She announces, glancing at the time.

Oliver nods reluctantly. She gathers her things and they walk to the door. Oliver watches as Felicity takes only four steps out the door, before she stops and turns around.

“You’re a good man, Oliver.” She tells him. “And you should be proud of what you do and who you are.”

Oliver gives her a small smile and nods in thanks. He watches as she gets in her car safely and then drives away.

_You’re a good man, Oliver._

He hasn’t heard those words in a very long time, and they make his heart beat faster.

→

Oliver paces his living room.

Felicity left around five hours ago and he hasn’t heard from her ever since. She told him she’d call right after meeting Adrian, so maybe he didn’t show up yet, but Oliver can’t help but worry.

After she left, he immediately called Lyla and John. His boss and colleague, but more importantly his best friends, listened to Felicity’s story and quickly got to work on finding something on Adrian.

Just like he knew, his friends didn’t judge him for calling someone to have some company and, more importantly, they didn’t judge Felicity’s decisions. Not that he doubted that, but it’s still good to know that the couple understand the situation.

It took them only half an hour to call him back with news, and what they told him did nothing but increase his worries.

Adrian Chase, one of the many aliases of Simon Morrison, is a human and sex trafficker, also involved in arms and drug trafficking. He’s wanted by the FBI and CIA, but neither of the agencies was ever able to arrest him for lack of solid evidence.

A few women accused Morrison of coercing them to prostitute themselves. He threatened them, threatened to make them lose their jobs, threatened to kill their families… to kill them.

Those few that talked, that asked for help, were found beaten to death in their homes just a few days later.

Now, it’s been five hours since he last saw Felicity, but he has no idea if she’s fine. He gave her his number, but he’s been so dumb to not ask her address or phone number. She can call him, but he can’t get in contact with her, even to just warn her.

His mind is going crazy, and he’s about to grab his phone to ask John to find her address, even if he doesn’t know her last name and he’ll have to check every Felicity living in the city, but then a knock comes from the door.

Oliver quickly walks to it, his heart hopeful to see a beautiful woman with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. His hand trembles slightly when he opens the door and…

Nothing.

The porch is empty. He takes a few steps forward and looks around. No one is there or walking the street. The only thing he sees is the dark clouds and the pouring rain that started some time ago, thunders rumbling low in the distance. The cold wind makes goosebumps rise on his skin and he’s turning around to go back inside when he sees it.

On the last step that leads to his porch there’s… a pen drive.

His heart skips a beat because he already knows who sent it. Oliver grabs it and all but runs to the kitchen, where his laptop is resting on the table. He plugs it in and on the screen a window appears, in the folder only one file is saved. A video.

Oliver select it, but he can’t play it. He knows it will either show the video Felicity told him about, the one Adrian is using to blackmail her, or… or maybe it’s something more gruesome, involving Felicity and a pool of blood.

Before his mind can conjure up even more scenarios, he presses enter and the video starts. He’s almost relieved when he sees Felicity drinking in a club. _Almost relieved_.

Oliver knows what he’ll see, and wants to slam close his laptop, but once it starts, he can’t look away.

So he watches.

Adrian recorded everything from something attached to his clothes, probably hidden in a pin or something similar. Felicity is right in front of him, drinking and talking about her perverted boss. Like she told him, it’s evident that she’s inebriated and bothered by her boss’s behavior, and Adrian constantly asks her to talk about him.

_“He’s your supervisor, right?”_

_“Really? He asked you to give him head?”_

_“And your boss believed his version?”_

_“There must be a way you can get revenge on him.”_

At that, Oliver sees Felicity hesitate.

_“Come on! A smart woman like you must have some trick up her sleeve.”_

It’s clear that she doesn’t want to say more, but after some pressure she explains that she could easily hack her supervisor’s laptop and mess around with it. From the way she says it, Oliver knows it’s not something she would really do, but she’d be successful if only she tried.

The video suddenly cuts, Adrian and Felicity are on the backseats of a car. This time the camera is obviously hidden behind the rearview mirror, and from that angle there’s no doubt what they’re doing.

Felicity looks even more drunk, and is kissing him sluggishly. Adrian takes off her leather jacket and throws it on the driver’s seat, before he unbuckles his belt and pulls down the zip.

_“Just a one-time thing.”_ She says.

_“Good enough for me.”_ Adrian replies as he puts a hand behind her head and leads her to his crotch.

Oliver closes his eyes and tightens his hands in fists. _How could that bastard violate something so private by filming it without her knowing? He used her and did the exact thing she complained her supervisor wanted from her to keep her quiet about his negligence._

_And that pig even saw the video later…_

He opens his eyes again and glares at the screen. Oliver is so furious that he almost misses it. He has to rewind a few seconds to see it.

While Felicity is ‘distracted’, Adrian subtly fumbles with her jacket before leaning back and smiling directly at the camera, his hand still on the back of her head, keeping her down. The video goes on for another minute, a whole minute during which Adrian continues to smile at the camera, almost challenging the viewer as he adds a few moans here and there.

Oliver never stops to glare at him.

When he gets tired, Adrian pulls Felicity up and makes her lay back on the seat, before pulling up her dress. He barely takes enough time to put on a condom, then doesn’t even bother to take off her underwear, just pushes them to the side, gets on top and starts to thrust.

It feels wrong and Oliver wants to look away, but he needs to see Felicity’s face, needs to know that she wanted it. Like she said, she looks consensual, but not something she’s really enjoying. It’s probably just something to keep her mind off of what happened that day, but she doesn’t seem interested to get to the finish line as she just wraps her arms around that idiot’s back and waits. She waits for him to finish and doesn’t even pretend to be satisfied. She fixes her dress and grabs her jacket before she opens the door.

_“See you around.”_ Adrian says grinning.

_“I don’t think so.”_ It’s her reply.

The door slams close and the video ends.

Oliver is speechless. He wants to find this guy and beat him up for disrespecting her, for blackmailing her, for taking advantage of her. She might’ve been consensual, but the way he treated her like an object is unforgivable.

Adrian led her to talk about her problems, he tricked her into believing she could trust him, and then got on video what was ‘proof enough’ that she’s unprofessional -because she could hack her supervisor’s computer for fun- and an easy girl -because she didn’t have a problem to have sex with a stranger. The video was also convincing enough for her boss that she’s the one who proposed herself to the supervisor in exchange of his silence because she ‘disrespected’ him, and that’s what got her fired.

Oliver closes the laptop and places his hands on the edge of the table. He’s furious, but most of all, he’s beyond worried. If Adrian sent this video to him, it means that he knows Oliver is trying to help Felicity. And if he knows they’re working together, who knows what he might do to Felicity if he’ll meet with her.

The bastard probably thought that sending him the video might change his mind about Felicity’s ‘innocence’ in this story, that maybe she’s just trying to get more money from Oliver using this story as an excuse. But Oliver believes everything Felicity told him.

That doesn’t change the fact that Adrian knows.

_How can he know?_

Oliver’s mind is working fast, trying to figure out how to find Adrian, how to trace Felicity, how to block the images in his head of her lying in a pool of blood like all the other women who asked for help before her.

The table creaks under the pressure of his hands as he grips it hard, just when another knock comes from the door.

Oliver rushes to it, and he almost hopes it’s Adrian so he can catch him and make him pay, but when he opens the door he stops as blood runs cold in his veins.

His eyes widen in shock.

“Felicity?”

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... I'm sorry?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, people... The new chapter is ready! I know that leaving you like that was mean, but... doesn't that keep you interested in the story? It's what they always do with tv shows, and I personally love it (even when it's frustrating!)
> 
> But no more talking... Let's get to the story, shall we?

“Felicity?”

His voice is music to her ears and she can’t stop the tears that fall from her eyes. “Oliver.” She mumbles.

She feels herself relax at his presence, and her legs shake as the adrenaline suddenly leaves her body. When she sways, Felicity reaches out to place her hand on the wall next to the door, but Oliver is there to catch her before she can fall.

“Hey, I’ve got you. I’ve got you.” His arms quickly encircle her waist and he kneels on the porch as he holds her.

His hand gingerly cups her cheek as he takes her in. She’s barefoot, still wearing the red dress from last night, soaking wet from the storm and she’s sobbing against his chest, but that’s not what worries him the most.

She has a black eye, there’s a cut on her cheek that is still bleeding, her right eyebrow is split, just like her lip, blood trickles down from her nose and another bruise is forming under her jaw. She’s also cradling her right hand which is bruised too.

“Felicity, look at me.” Oliver tells her softly, pushing aside his need to know what happened for just a moment. “Open your eyes, honey, please.”

It’s the quivering in his voice that makes her do as he says and stares up at him. “He was there.” She barely says before her voice cracks.

Oliver swallows hard. He looks her over again and makes a decision. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“No!” Felicity stops him, her voice sounds terrified, just how she feels. “No, please, he knows I might go to a hospital, just… Just let me stay here with you, please.”

He considers to take her there anyway, who knows how bad her injuries are, but Felicity tightly grips his shirt.

“_Please_, Oliver.” She begs him.

He’s not convinced, but he doesn’t want to upset her, so for now he’ll do as she says, but if things are worse than she lets on, he’ll take her. Oliver doesn’t waste any more time and carefully picks her up. She shivers in his arms as he carries her inside, and her bruised body looks so fragile when he lays her down on the couch. His hand softly runs through her wet locks as Oliver stares into her eyes.

“I’ll be back in a minute, okay?”

Felicity nods and he quickly disappears in another room. As she waits for him, she gingerly sits up and looks down at her hand. _That_ doesn’t look good. She grimaces when she tries to turn her wrist and she has to cradle it with her left hand just to place it back on her lap. She can only guess how she looks like, and she wonders again if coming here was the right decision. Especially after what Adrian said…

When Oliver comes back not even thirty seconds later with the first aid kit, a bag of ice and two blankets, Felicity has no doubt. She made the right choice.

He drops everything on the coffee table, then turns to her, his hand gentle on her shoulder. “Felicity, I can take care of most of your injuries, but if there’s something that requires a professional doctor…”

She shakes her head. “It’s just bruises and cuts.”

He’s not so sure about it, but for now he’ll let it go. “Alright. Let’s get this off, okay?” He asks pulling at her leather jacket.

Felicity nods, and as he helps her she winces every time she has to move her wrist. When the jacket is off, Oliver puts one blanket over her legs and the other around her shoulders, gingerly rubbing his hands up and down her arms. “Are you cold?”

She shakes her head and Oliver grabs the bag of ice, placing it on her wrist. She hisses at the cold against her injured hand and hears him apologize. When she still looks down at the floor, avoiding his eyes, he places a finger under her chin and makes her look up at him. His eyes are beyond worried.

“Can you please tell me what happened?” He whispers.

She hesitates. Adrian’s words are still clear in her head.

“Felicity, trust me, I just want to help you.” Oliver tells her. “Please, let me help.”

She closes her eyes and sighs. _Trust him. I can trust him._

“After leaving your house, I went back home…”

→

_Dark clouds cover the sky, sign of a storm coming soon, and Felicity quickly unlocks her apartment door. She steps inside and locks it again, taking off her heels in the process. She just wants to get rid of her contacts and switch back to her glasses, take a shower, change into some comfortable clothes and then take a nap. She woke up two hours ago, but she needs a nap with everything that’s happening._

_Felicity reaches for the lamp on the table next to the door, but another light behind her turns on even before she finds the switch. The sudden light makes her jump and when she turns around, she sees him._

_Sitting on her couch there’s Adrian, his hand still reaching for the switch. It’s the classic scene you’d see in a movie._

_Such a dramatic._

_“Jeez, what is wrong with you showing up uninvited?” She glares at him, her heart pounding fast in her chest._

_“I was waiting for you.” He replies, standing from the couch and making his way to her._

_“This is breaking and entering.” Felicity points out. “I can call the cops and have you arrested right now.”_

_Adrian chuckles. “You won’t do that.” He shows her the pen drive he always seems to carry around. “You know how easy it is for me to just tell them I was staying over after a good fuck.”_

_Felicity winces at his words. She just wants him out of her home. “Just take this and leave.” She tells him, reaching into her purse to grab the money Oliver gave to her._

_Adrian takes it and starts to count it._

_“This time I wasn’t late, and there’s also an extra.” She informs him._

_Felicity almost yelled at Oliver while he was making breakfast. He gave her way too much, but he told her that he didn’t want to risk for Adrian to become aggressive in case she got in touch with him later than expected. He also wanted to come with her to keep her safe, even from far away, but Felicity pointed out that it would just draw Adrian’s attention. She had to insist for him to let her go alone._

_“And did he enjoy his whole night?” Adrian interrupts her thoughts. “Did he fuck you senseless?” He asks as he puts the envelope in the back pocket of his jeans. She doesn’t miss how he doesn’t give her a single dollar._

_Felicity surely doesn’t miss the gun that he has in the back of his pants._

_“He… he enjoyed it.” She says, her voice trembling. Something is wrong with Adrian as he stares at her, almost glaring, his hand still too near that gun._

_“And did you enjoy it?” He continues._

_“You’ve got your money. Now, leave.” Felicity insists, taking a step back from him._

_“What is it?” He mocks at her, taking a step closer. “What are you scared of?”_

_She shakes her head. “Nothing…”_

_“Are you scared I’ll find out you asked him for help?!” He yells._

_Before she can realize what he just said, his hand grabs her by the hair and he slams her head against the door frame. The hard impact disorients her, she feels blood trailing down her face and she’s sure he just split her eyebrow._

_“Do you think I’m an idiot?” He screams in her ear, making her wince. “I know everything. I _see_ everything.”_

_He pulls her hair again and punches her in the face, the hit makes her fall to the floor and panic settles in her bones. She reaches for her purse in an attempt to get her phone, but when she grabs it Adrian is quick to throw it to the other side of the room._

_“You think I’ll let you call your savior?” He laughs. “Sorry to disappoint you.”_

_He kicks her in the stomach a couple of times, then Felicity sees him moving on top of her to straddle her. She tries to push him away but he punches her again. And again. And again. With every punch he delivers, she feels her body get weaker and weaker._

Fight!_ A voice in her head tells her. It almost sounds like Oliver’s…_

_She struggles to open her eyes and when she sees another fist ready to hit her, Felicity feels adrenaline fill her veins and she moves her head out of the way, causing Adrian to punch the ground._

_“You bitch!” He grunts._

_Felicity takes advantage of his shock and punches him right in the groin, making him howl in pain. She tries to punch him again, in the face this time, but he blocks her hand and twists it until she hears a sickening, cracking sound. The pain makes her scream, but when she sees him reach for the gun, she finds strength once again and kneels him in the balls, hard. This time he lets out a pained shout that leaves him breathless._

_As he holds himself, she’s able to get out from under him. He’s still on the floor, so she quickly gets her phone and a scrambler -just in case he tries to hack her phone and track it. She’s about to leave, when an idea strikes her. She grabs the GPS tracker she always carries in her purse in case she gets mugged, and while he’s still on the floor, with his eyes shut tightly, she subtly puts it in his jacket pocket._

_Felicity all but runs to the door._

_“If you go back to him to get help, I’ll make sure to make you pay… both of you!” He screams from the floor. “I’ll _kill_ you both!”_

_Felicity shuts the door, leaving Adrian in her apartment as she runs from him._

→

She sighs and closes her eyes as she finishes her story.

Oliver gently places the last butterfly bandage over the cut on her cheek. He did his best taking care of her wounds while she talked, but with every word she said his worries only increased. Worries for her physical and emotional state, as well as for her safety. When he’s done, he closes the first aid kit and turns to look at her straight in the eyes.

“Felicity, you left my house over five hours ago.” He reminds her. “Why did it take you so long to come back here?” He asks gently. She shrugs and avoids his eyes again. “You ran around the city for hours, in the rain, barefoot, scared and vulnerable. What if he caught up with you?”

Felicity sighs. “I didn’t want to put you in danger.” She admits. “He said he’ll kill you. I was scared he was going to do that for real. But then… I didn’t know where else to go, so I just…”

When she’s on the verge of crying again, Oliver pulls her closer, letting her rest her head against his chest as he wraps his arms around her.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I can take care of myself.” He reassures her.

“I don’t want you to get hurt because of a mistake I did.”

“If Adrian comes after me, it won’t be your fault.” Oliver tells her.

“But I’m the one who-”

“It would only be because of him.” He insists. “This all started because he’s a sex trafficker, _he_ is the only one at fault. He shouldn’t have approached you in the first place, let alone force you to earn money for him. You’re not a bad person, Felicity, _he is_. It’s only _his_ fault.”

Felicity thinks about that and what happened, and for a few minutes neither speaks.

“I think he may have hacked my phone.” Felicity says in the end. “He knew you were helping me even before I reached my apartment, so maybe last night he hacked my phone and overheard our conversation or something. I’ll need to check.”

Her words make sense, but Oliver remembers what he saw on the video and suddenly he knows what happened. He looks to the side and sees Felicity’s jacket on the couch, the same jacket she had last night and this morning. The same leather jacket she was wearing in the video. He tenses, knowing that Adrian could be listening to them right now, but Felicity pulls away and squeezes his hand.

“Don’t worry.” She says, reaching for the jacket and grabbing her phone and the scrambler from the pocket. “I’ve got this. He can’t hear us.” She feels him relax, but his face shows he’s still worried.

“He didn’t use your phone to spy on us.” Oliver tells her, sure of what he’s saying.

She frowns. “What do you mean?”

Without another word, he stands and leaves the room only to be back a few seconds later with a laptop in his hands. He places it on the coffee table and only then she sees it. The pen drive Adrian so proudly shoved in her face.

Felicity feels a tightness in her chest. “He sent it to you?” She whispers.

Oliver takes place next to her and nods. “Just a few minutes before you got here.”

A moment of complete silence passes between them.

“And you watched it?” She asks, holding her breath. He nods again. “Oh…” Felicity looks down at the floor, ashamed of herself.

He saw her drunk, talking bad about her boss, and then be careless by having sex with Adrian, a man she just met. Who knows what Oliver must be thinking about her, considering she slept with him too after just meeting him. Sure, with Adrian it meant nothing, it was just a distraction, and with Oliver it started as something she was forced to do that fortunately turned into something amazing, but that doesn’t change the fact that she did sleep with men who she just met.

_He must be thinking that I’m-_

“Hey…” Oliver places his hand on her back. “You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I don’t do things like that, I swear. I get to know men before we- I don’t know what got to me that night to…”

“Felicity, I’m not judging you and it certainly doesn’t change how I see you.” He reassures her softly.

She tentatively raises her eyes and finds his. “And how do you see me?”

He doesn’t miss how she repeats the same words he said to her last night, when he showed her his scars. “I see a brilliant woman who was wrongfully harassed by people who should’ve been grateful they still had their job thanks to her. I see a woman who was in need of someone who could support her in a moment of discouragement. I see a brave woman who is trying to survive a bad situation.” Oliver takes her uninjured hand. “Felicity, this doesn’t change anything. I’m still going to help you. I’ll make sure to stop Adrian for good, so you can go back to live your life without worrying about him ever again.”

Felicity closes her eyes as she lets out a relieved breath. She can feel Oliver is being sincere and that he doesn’t think lowly of her because of what he saw. When she opens her eyes again, she points at the laptop. “What was that you wanted to show me?”

Oliver opens it and, before pressing play on the video, he turns to look at her. “I really didn’t want to watch it. I hope you can forgive me for disrespecting you.”

She shakes her head. “It’s not you who disrespected me.”

Oliver nods in understanding before starting the video. He lowers the volume until it’s on mute and skips the part in the club, showing her the moments when she’s in the car with Adrian. Next to him, she makes a disgusted noise. “I’m sorry, it’s just… Look here.” He tells her, pointing where Adrian fumbles with her jacket. When he’s done with that and Adrian sits back to enjoy himself, Oliver stops the video.

Felicity reaches for her jacket and inspects it closely. They find a micro camera attached to the last button, perfectly camouflaged and impossible to notice unless someone looked for it.

“This is how he knew the moment I got fired, which companies I applied for, and that I recently had an interview at Palmer Technologies. This is how he found out about us. He’s been spying on me for months. And I had no idea.”

Oliver stares at it. Such a small piece of technology followed her every move without her knowing. Thank god they left her jacket on the coat rack near the door last night, so the bastard didn’t assist to their moments of intimacy.

He takes it from her hand. “We should destroy it.”

“No!” Felicity stops him, taking it back from him. “No, this can be useful. We can use it to track him.”

“But you said that you put a GPS on him.” He reminds her.

“Yes, but what if he finds it or changes his clothes? We will lose him.” She points out. “But this… I can try to triangulate where it’s transmitting and find a possible base of operations.”

Oliver nods. “That’s brilliant.” He smiles at her, before another thought comes to him. “And your scrambler works on this too, right? He’s not watching us…?”

“Yeah, it works on any electronic device within 50 meters.” She reassures him.

“Good.”

“But I’ll have to turn it off now so I can find him.”

Felicity reaches for the laptop but Oliver stops her. “Wait… I can’t let you do that, not here.”

“What do you mean?” She asks confused.

“Adrian knows where I live, he probably suspects that you’re here so it’s not safe to track him.” He explains. “The house is secure, but I need to be one-hundred percent sure that I can protect you from him. And even if you find him, we’d still need a team to arrest him.”

Felicity knows he’s right, she does, but she just wants to get this over with. “So what should we do?”

“I need to take you at ARGUS.” Oliver says. “There, I’ll be able to keep you safe, you can track him down and we’ll have all the resources we need, computers, tech-stuff and agents.” He rubs his hand over her back. “You just need to be patient for a little longer.”

She sighs and closes her eyes. _Just a little longer and it will be over._

When a drop of cold water slips down from her wet hair and runs down her chest, she shivers, feeling the soaked dress cold against her skin.

“Maybe you should take a shower first to warm you up?” He proposes.

Felicity shrugs. “I don’t want to bother too much.”

“You don’t.” He reassures her as he stands up. “Come on.”

She looks at the hand he holds out and, after just a moment of hesitation, she takes it.

→

Felicity stands in the bathroom looking at her reflection. Her face is covered in bruises and cuts, a few bruises are on her arms too, and she can only imagine how her abdomen must look like. She’s still wearing her dress, that is sticking to her skin, and after gathering some courage, she reaches for the zip. She tries a few times to pull it down one handed, but she can’t do it and when she uses her injured hand too it hurts like hell.

A soft knock comes from the door. “Felicity, I brought you some dry clothes. Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

The door slowly opens and Oliver steps in. He looks at her and notices she hasn’t moved from the spot where he left her and is still dressed. “Is everything okay?” He asks as he places the clothes next to the sink.

Felicity lets out a frustrated sigh. “I can’t pull down the zip, and this isn’t helping much.” She says showing him her bruised hand.

He gently takes hold of it and examines it. “It’s starting to swell. I think it might be broken.” He tells her.

“I thought as much.” She confesses, defeated.

Without thought, Oliver’s thumb draws soft circles on her wrist. “Do you need me to help you?”

She considers saying ‘yes’, but… “You’re already doing so much for me, I can’t ask you that.”

“You’re not asking.” He points out. When she still doesn’t answer, he continues. “If I’m making you uncomfortable, I’ll leave…”

“No, it’s not that, really.” She reassures him. “I just… I don’t want to bother you.”

“It’s not a problem for me, Felicity. You need to understand that there’s nothing wrong in asking for help.” Oliver tells her softly. “I’m here to help you.”

Felicity closes her eyes and considers her options. She can ask him to just pull down the zip, then leave her to take the shower alone while injured. Or she can ask him to stay and help her. When she shivers again, Felicity knows she needs that warm shower immediately, so she makes a decision.

“Would you mind to help me?” She asks with her eyes closed.

Oliver places his hand on her uninjured cheek, making her open her eyes. “I told you, Felicity. It’s not a problem.”

She sighs. “Okay.”

“Okay.” He echoes.

Felicity turns around and Oliver pulls down the zip. The action reminds him of that first night at the motel, but there’s nothing sexual about it this time. When the dress falls down at her feet and she turns around, he sees the bruising on her abdomen where Chase kicked her. Oliver lightly traces the bruising, gently pressing on them. “Does it hurt? Are you in any pain?”

Felicity shakes her head. “No, not really. Just if I move too quickly.”

Oliver nods in understanding and helps her with her underwear, he starts the shower and then takes off his clothes. He helps her to get in the shower and leads her under the water spray. Felicity closes her eyes and sighs.

“Is it too hot?” Oliver checks, but she shakes her head.

They’re both silent as Oliver helps her to wash her hair, something she’d be unable to do with her wounded hand. His hands massage her scalp and the action sooths her so much that she unconsciously rests her forehead against his chest as he continues to work. After he’s done, he leads her again under the water and tilts her head back so he can rinse her hair.

As he gently runs his fingers through her hair, Felicity opens her eyes and stares at him. He’s focused on his task, but he stares back at her. She sees his eyes filled with concern and for some reason that brings a wave of emotions that she can’t control as a single tear escapes from her eye.

Oliver knows it’s not a drop of water and with his thumb he brushes it away. “Everything is going to be okay.” He reassures her again.

Felicity simply nods and Oliver grabs a bottle of body soap. He makes sure she’s under the warm water so she doesn’t get cold, and his hands run over her body in a gentle motion. Once again there’s nothing sexual about it, not even when he kneels in front of her and he’s basically facing her navel.

He’s meticulous, washing every inch of her skin, her arms, her back, her chest, her legs and her feet. He takes a mental note that she has a few cuts for walking on the streets barefoot and they need a few bandages, but the cuts don’t appear to be infected.

When he finishes to wash her, Felicity waits as he quickly washes himself. Oliver is facing away from her when he feels her hand on his back. He stops his movements as she runs it over the big scar on his lower back, the burning he received during one of the many times he was held captive. Felicity’s fingers are gentle as they trace it back and forward a few times.

When her hand stills and she doesn’t take it away from him, Oliver slightly turns to see her face. She looks sad and angry at the same time.

“I will never understand how people can be so cruel.” She whispers.

Oliver sighs and reaches back to cover her hand with his as he takes a deep breath. “This scar… a man used a blow torch to get information about one of ARGUS’s safehouses, where an eye witness of a murder was being kept safe.” His voice trembles as he tells the story out loud for the first time in his life to someone other than John. “I refused to say a single word to that bastard. A couple of hours later I was able to escape and then we caught him.”

Several moments pass by in silence. Felicity pulls back from him, only to hold out her uninjured hand. He understands immediately what she wants, he’s about to refuse and tell her that she’s injured, but she isn’t having any of it.

“Please, let me.” She simply says.

Oliver hesitates, but in the end he opens the cap and pours some body soap on her hand. Felicity starts to wash his back, slowly and gently, never skipping over his scars but taking care of them. Oliver can’t remember the last time someone washed his back, can’t remember the last time he took a shower with someone, can’t remember a time when women weren’t disgusted by him or his body.

“I hope you know how strong you are.” She tells him. “Strong and brave, and you should be proud of yourself, not ashamed.”

“I don’t regret my past. Everything I did, I did it to protect people in need, and I’d do it all over again.” He says. “It’s just what comes after, the consequences and the scars they leave, that are hard to accept.”

“You don’t have to be ashamed of them.” Felicity repeats and they both know she doesn’t mean just the physical scars.

Oliver sighs, and then when his back is covered in soap, Felicity pulls him under the water to wash it away. It makes him close his eyes and sigh, enjoying the feeling of her soft touch on his skin. Maybe he enjoys it a little bit too much, as he feels his body react to her touches.

“Sorry.” He whispers.

He’s still facing away from her, but she must know what’s going on with him, because she places a kiss on his shoulder and shakes her head. “It’s alright.”

They both know nothing will happen, not with her hurt like that and so much going on, but it’s obvious that if the circumstances were different… something would have happened.

When the water starts to run cold, he closes the faucet and steps out of the shower wrapping a towel around his waist. He grabs another towel and puts it over Felicity’s shoulders, helping her to dry off.

Their breaths are the only sounds in the room as Oliver helps her to put on his clothes. Felicity is only slightly embarrassed when she wears a pair of his boxer briefs, but Oliver doesn’t seem to mind as he continues with his task, dressing her with some sweatpants, a t-shirt and a grey hoodie over it to keep her warm.

Once she’s fully dressed, Oliver looks at her and gives her a small smile. “I’ll go get some clothes for myself, we’ll clean those cuts under your feet, then we’ll go at ARGUS, okay?”

Felicity nods, and only when he turns around to leave the bathroom, she finds her voice again. “Thank you, Oliver. For everything you’re doing.”

He turns around and steps closer again. “I don’t want you to thank me. You don’t have to do that. Ever.”

She wants to tell him that she owes him so much, but she’s starting to understand what kind of man he is.

_A wonderful man._

Felicity sighs and nods. “Okay.”

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As many of you guessed (okay, all of you), Adrian beat her up, but Felicity fought back as much as she could. Even if she never had any training, when adrenaline pumps through your body, you can do so much to survive... And that's what happened.
> 
> I hope you're still liking this story, and as always, I appreciate all of you who take time to read, leave kudos and comment. It means a lot to me, so, thank you.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I say this every single time, but I really appreciate all the comments and kudos you're leaving! Even if you don't leave those but read the story anyway, is important to me. So, thanks to all of you!
> 
> (Again, I'm sure there are mistakes, and I apologize for them.)

Oliver walks the halls of ARGUS’s hospital wing. He just explained every new bit of information about Chase to Lyla and John, while Felicity got checked out by one of their doctors. She was still hesitant about coming here, but in the end she knew she couldn’t defeat Chase by herself. And, more importantly, she needed medical attention.

He reaches the room he’s been told is Felicity’s and knocks twice.

“Yes?” Felicity answers from the other side.

“It’s Oliver.”

“Come in.” Is her soft reply.

He opens the door and steps inside, quietly closing the door behind him as he looks at her. It's been two hours since he last saw her, before getting checked by their doctors, and now she’s still wearing his clothes that are too big on her, just like the sneakers she borrowed from him. Sitting on the hospital bed she looks so small and fragile. He knows she’s anything but. She’s so strong as she faces the awful situation Chase put her in.

“Hey.” He gives her a soft smile. “How are you doing?”

“I’m feeling better.” She replies with a smile of her own. “The woman who visited me was very nice, and didn't poke me too much. I’m glad you took me here instead of the hospital.” Felicity frowns. “I hate hospitals.”

Oliver chuckles. “I think everyone hates hospitals.”

“Yeah.”

He steps closer to the bed and notices they replaced all the bandages that got wet in the shower. “How are your injuries?”

“No concussion and no internal bleeding.” She reassures him. “Just cuts and bruises that will fade in a couple of weeks.”

He nods in understanding and looks at her right wrist that is now in a cast. “Broken?”

Felicity glances down at it and nods. “Broken. I need to keep this for a month.” She sighs. “Oh, it’s going to be so fun to type with it.” She says sarcastically.

“Well, you’ll have to take it easy for a while.”

She shakes her head. “I can’t. I told you, I haven’t much left, I need to work. Besides, Palmer Technologies left me a message… I’m their new head of the IT Department.” She says with a small smile that doesn't reach her eyes.

“That’s good, Felicity.” He tells her sincerely. “That’s very good. But I think they will understand if you tell them you had an accident and need a few days to recover.”

“Yeah.” Felicity replies, but she seems worried about something else as she stares down at her phone placed on her lap.

“Hey…” Oliver sits next to her and covers her uninjured hand with his. “We’ll stop Adrian before he can send that video to them too. You won’t lose this job.”

She sighs, still looking down. “He already found the tracker I put on him and destroyed it.”

Felicity shows him her phone and he can see a map of the city, the words ‘Signal lost’ blinking in red on top of it. They should have known he was going to find it.

“Adrian is the kind of man that always has a Plan B. I can’t help but think that, even if we do catch him, he’ll still be able to ruin my life.” She says quietly.

Oliver shakes his head, not accepting that. “Then let’s stop him before he can even _think_ about a Plan B.” He tells her. He stands and holds out his hand. “Are you ready to send him behind bars for good?”

Felicity takes his hand and stands. “Hell, yes.”

They walk in silence, still holding each other’s hand, as Felicity looks around. The place is huge, with glass walls that separate different offices and people focused on their work. She’s glad to notice that there are as many women as men, and it’s not a ‘male only’ kind of agency.

They get closer to the door that says ‘Director’ on it, and Felicity’s heart starts to beat faster. What are they going to think of her, of what she did and what she was ready to do? How can she face them without being ashamed of herself? With Oliver is different, he’s been supportive since the first moment, but with people she doesn’t know…

“Everything is going to be fine.” Oliver whispers to her. He probably noticed how she slowed down dragging her feet, and her hand started to sweat.

“You keep saying that, but I’m not so sure I can tell this story again.” She confesses. “At least not to… to people other than you.”

Oliver steps in front of her and stares into her eyes. “You’ll tell them only what you’re comfortable with. My boss already knows the most important parts, she just needs details about your interactions with Adrian. That way, you might remember something important that will help us to catch him sooner.”

_Catch Adrian._ She repeats in her head over and over. _It will help to catch Adrian._

Felicity nods and he leads her to the Director’s office, where he knocks twice.

“Come in.”

Oliver opens the door and they enter the room, only then he lets go of her hand, as he closes the door. Two people are in the room, a man and a woman. They stop talking as she walks in, standing from their chairs and focusing on her and Oliver. The way they stand so close to each other leads her to think that they could be in a relationship, or at least that there's something between them. A connection, like Oliver calls it.

Oliver places a gentle hand on her lower back, inviting her to walk closer to the others, and trusting him, she takes a few steps forward. “Felicity, these are Lyla Michaels, Director of ARGUS, and John Diggle, head of the Special Operations Team.” He introduces them. “But more importantly, they are my friends, the only two I can really trust.”

His words reassure her, just like the warm hand on her back, and she’s able to give them both a smile as she shakes their hands. “Nice to meet you.”

“Me too.” Lyla tells her. “Though I wish it was under better circumstances.”

“I agree.” John adds. “I’m sorry you got involved in something like this.”

They just met her, and this is obviously something they’ve already dealt with in the past, so it’s part of their job to say things like that, but Felicity can hear the sincerity in their voices.

“Yeah.” She clears her throat a little uncomfortably, feeling self-conscious as she looks around, looking anywhere but at them. “I want to thank you for your help. I don’t know what I’d do without it.”

John shakes his head. “There’s no need to.”

“We are here to help people in need,” Lyla continues, “but we don’t do it for the gratitude. We do it because it’s right, and no one deserves to suffer.”

Felicity nods, unsure on how to respond to that. When the silence is about to stretch on, she decides to go straight to the problem at hand. “Oliver said that, most likely, it’s not the first time Adrian does something like this.”

Felicity watches as the other three people in the room share worried looks, and she gets the feeling that she’s missing something.

Oliver turns to her and takes a step closer, his body slighlty brushing against hers. “Felicity, after you left this morning, I called and informed them about what you told me. John and Lyla found out that Adrian Chase is one of the many aliases he uses to elude FBI and CIA.”

She glances at the three people in front of her. “You know who he really is?”

Lyla opens a folder on her desk and gives her a document. “His real name is Simon Morrison, a human and sex trafficker, involved in arms and drug trafficking as well.”

Felicity swallows hard as she stares at the file, his smiling face mocking her through the photo from his driver license, the words ‘sex trafficker’ underlined more than once. She got herself in such a big mess. And to think that if she hadn’t met Oliver, her situation would be so much worse.

Oliver watches as Felicity takes in every bit of information on that damned file. He wants to wrap his arms around her and reassure her that everything will be alright, that the bastard won’t hurt her ever again. The only thing stopping him is that Lyla and John are right there, and it’d be so complicated to explain to them what is going on between him and Felicity. He’s not even sure himself what it is, let alone explain it to others. Or _her_. So, he stays close, hoping to give her some comfort and strength, silently reassuring her that it will be alright.

The woman in front of him takes a deep breath and raises her eyes to look at them. “Do you know anything else about him?”

John nods. “In the last few years, six women reached out to the FBI or CIA and told them what he made them do, the threats he made.” He informs her, talking softly. “They were all found dead a few days after talking.”

Felicity inhales sharply. She’s asking for help, she’s doing the same thing those women did. What will happen to her?

“How?” She asks quietly.

“They all received critical hits. Most of them died of internal bleeding or complications. Two of them were shot in the head.” John tells her as delicately as possible.

She closes her eyes. “He’s beaten them to death?”

“Yes.” Oliver confirms.

Felicity nods in understanding but she doesn’t say anything. Adrian came to her apartament this morning to kill her, she’s sure of it. He started to beat her and when she rebelled, he reached for his gun to shoot her. If she hadn't fought back, she’d be another name on that list, another woman he used and killed. She’s still lost in her own thoughts when John steps closer.

“Miss Smoak, if it’s okay with you, I would like to search your apartment. See if this man left something behind that we can use to track him down.” He says.

She nods. “Of course. Anything to catch him.”

He nods in thanks. “Oliver?” John looks at him.

Oliver takes a deep breath. “Yeah, I’ll come too.” He answers as he stares at Felicity. She looks almost scared at that, so he reaches out and squeezes her shoulder. “We’ll be back as soon as possible.”

_Don’t go._

The words run through her head and she wants to scream them. Oliver makes her feel safe, protected, and the thought of being away from him, while Adrian is still out there, terrifies her. But she can’t say them. She can’t keep him here, hold him back from doing his job, a job he’s so dedicated to.

As if he’s able to read her mind, he gives her a reassuring smile. “You’ll be safe here.”

Felicity closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She knows that, she knows that being surrounded by trained agents means being safe. It’s just something about Oliver, the way he makes her feel calm and _so, so_ safe… And she worries for him too. Most likely, Adrian knows he’s the one who is helping her, so what if he tries to hurt Oliver? Or even worse, kill him?

Taking another calming breath, Felicity opens her eyes and nods. “Okay.”

Oliver squeezes her shoulder again before he turns around and with John leaves the room. Felicity turns to look at Lyla, and the woman motions for her to sit on the chair in front of her desk. She sits and shifts uncomfortably.

“Miss Smoak-”

“Felicity, please.”

“Felicity,” Lyla nods, “Oliver told me only part of your story because he wasn’t sure what you wanted to share, and I agree with his decision, I respect it. So, whatever you’re comfortable to tell me, it will stay in this room. Okay?”

She nods. “Thank you.”

“There’s no need to.” Lyla reassures her. “And he also gave me this.” She shows her the pen drive. “Along with the camera you found. I already have my best guy working on that to find the location where it was transmitting to.”

Felicity tries to ignore the embarrassment she feels knowing the woman probably watched the video. Instead, she focuses on more important matters. “I want to help you with that. Tech is my thing, I’m sure I can find him working with the right equipment.”

“Of course, the more people working on it, the faster we can catch him.” Lyla agrees. “And I'm sure you'll be of great help. But for now, Felicity, I would like for you to try and remember every interaction you had with Chase. Every bit of information you can give us, even if it seems meaningless, it might help us to find him sooner. It could be something he said, a name or a place, maybe something you saw on his phone. Anything can be useful.”

With a sigh, she starts from the very beginning, the night when she met him, but most of it is a blur due to the fact that she was pretty drunk. Felicity feels ashamed of her actions, but Lyla never once looks at her with judgement or disdain. Instead, she seems to understand the bad place Adrian put her in and why she decided to accept his deal.

She talks about the threats, the many rejections from companies that thought she was unprofessional, she tells her about accepting the deal, meeting Oliver, more threats from Adrian, Oliver offering to help her, and then Adrian attacking her at home.

“So, I just ran away and… somehow, almost unconsciously, I ended up in front of Oliver’s door.” She says.

“And now here you are.” Lyla concludes.

“Here I am.” She sighs. She’s lost in her head when something comes to mind. “Oliver is not in any trouble, right?” Felicity asks nervously. “He did nothing but help me, he doesn’t deserve to be reprimanded or whatever…”

Lyla frowns. “Why would he be in trouble?”

“I… I don’t know, maybe… maybe because he called… _me_?” Felicity stutters.

The woman stares at her for a few seconds before her expression changes from confusion to understanding. “As Director of this agency, whatever Oliver does in his private life, it’s not my business.”

“But wouldn’t that be bad for the agency if Adrian spreads the word about… _us_? The way we met?” She asks. Felicity really wants to make sure that her problem won't cause Oliver any inconvenience. Like he said, he knew what he was doing when he called her, but now his boss knows about it, and other people might find out...

Lyla shrugs. “Maybe. But Oliver is an excellent agent. He doesn’t let his private life affect his job, and keeps those worlds separate one from the other. And speaking as Oliver’s friend...” The woman's eyes soften as she speaks the next words. “I know how hard it is for him to find someone who can understand and accept him after what happened to him while working here. If calling a stranger helps him to overcome his insecurities and make him feel less lonely… then so be it. Who am I to stop him?”

“So he’s not in trouble?” Felicity asks again, just to be sure.

“Whatever happened between you two- which I don't want to know,” Lyla is quick to clarify, “were you both consensual?”

Felicity doesn’t hesitate and nods. “Of course, yeah.”

“Then no one is in any trouble.” The woman confirms.

The words make her relax, even if just a little, and she can take a relieved breath. When she opens her eyes again, she glances down at the pen drive. “I’m sorry I can’t be more useful. He didn’t say anything important, or I don’t remember.”

“That’s alright.”

“But I think I can find a way to trace back that camera signal if you give me a computer.” Felicity informs her, determined to help them catch Adrian.

“Then let’s get you a computer.”

→

Oliver looks around the room one more time and his hands clench in tight fists as he sees signs of the struggle. There are a few picture frames on the floor, a knocked vase too, some blood on the door and the floor, and Felicity’s purse lies in the middle of the room. He and John already checked the apartment, but Chase was smart enough to not leave traces they could use to follow him.

John is out asking to her neighbors if they saw something unusual or Chase himself, while he grabs a few things Felicity will need, like some clothes and a few toiletries. He’s packing a second bag, when John enters the bedroom.

“The neighbors say they never saw Chase around here.” John informs him. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.”

“Either way, we can’t let Felicity come back here until he’s caught. She’ll might need a safehouse.” Oliver says, thinking of any possible way of protecting her. “We know what that bastard did to those other women, I can’t let that happen to Felicity, especially after he already tried this morning. I promised I’d keep her safe and I intend to keep that promise.”

John nods. “Right. You need a hand?” He indicates the bags.

“No, I think I got enough for a few days.” He says as he zips it up. Oliver grabs both bags and turns to leave the room, when he notices John staring at him. “What?”

“You care about her.” He points out.

“John…” He sighs, already knowing what he’s about to say.

“I know you, Oliver. I know that look. You are worried about her, _really_ worried, because you’re starting to care.” John explains.

He doesn’t like where this conversation is going, but John is right, of course he is.

Ever since the first moment he saw her, he felt protective of her, so yes, Oliver _really_ worries about Felicity’s safety because he _really_ cares about her. There’s something in the way she looks at him, how she leans on him, how she made him realize important things about his past relationships… and the way she seems to understand him and accept what he’s been through. He can’t explain what it is specifically, but all those things together make him care about her because, somehow, he believes she might care about him too.

Oliver understands why John might see it as the result of a couple of nights spent together, because it already happened in the past. It happened with McKenna, then with Susan, and it happened again with Laurel. It was always the same thing. He slept with them, they started a ‘thing’, he confessed his insecurities and trusted them with his secrets, and they just ignored him and pretended nothing wrong ever happened to him. It always ended with him burned and blamed by them for their own problems.

But with Felicity is different, he knows it is. _She_ is different. She wouldn't treat him like that, ever. He_ knows_ it.

“What if I care?” Oliver says. “Would it be that bad because we just met?”

“No, Oliver, absolutely not.” John shakes his head. “It would be good, you deserve someone who will love you and respect you. But you need to be sure that whatever it is between you two, it’s something genuine, and it’s not just the result of Felicity looking at you for safety and you seeing her as your last chance at love. You’re my best friend, Oliver, and I don’t want to see you hurt again.”

John is not that wrong, Oliver wondered too if what there’s between him and Felicity is genuine or not. They just met, and _how_ they met is not exactly how you start a relationship with someone, but…

His phone rings and Oliver places a bag on the floor to grab it from his pocket.

“Hello?” He answers.

“Hey, it’s me. I mean, it’s Felicity.” She says awkwardly.

It brings a small smile on his face, and he doesn’t care if John sees it. “Yes, Felicity, I recognized your voice.”

“Oh, good, uh… well, I hope I’m not bothering you…”

“No, we’ve searched your apartment but Adrian didn’t leave any lead for us to follow. We’re on our way back to ARGUS.” Oliver informs her.

“Good, because we may have found something.”

→

Oliver steps inside the geniuses’ office. That’s what he calls the tech department, where the magic happens and smart people give him information he can use to catch the criminals.

Lyla is standing next to a desk and only when he’s a few feet away from her he sees Felicity sitting behind the computer. He’s only a little surprised to see her working, but he has the feeling that she’s not a woman who will stand by as the man who threatened her is still out there.

“Hey, you have news?” He asks as he stops in front of them, placing the bags on the floor next to the desk.

Lyla nods. “Felicity was able to triangulate the signal from the camera you two found. We have an area that extends for a few miles, so we’re waiting for the exact location where he might be hiding.”

“That’s amazing.” He says looking at the blonde in front of him.

“Well, it was just a little algorithm…” Felicity says with a wave of her hand.

“That you wrote in just a few minutes with only one hand.” Curtis points out from a desk nearby.

“Yes, but you helped me with the security measures, and don’t get me started on this computer.” She says adoringly as she looks up at him. “Oliver, you guys have computers that run a XK-15 processor. That’s not even supposed to exist yet.” She pouts a little when she looks back at the screen, lovingly caressing the frame. “I want one.”

Oliver does his best to not smile at her cute face. _Really, Oliver? You think about how cute she is right now, when a mad man is still looking for her?_ He shakes his head and focuses on the important matters.

“Is that location near?” He asks instead.

“Yes, should be about three miles from here.” She confirms as she continues to type one-handed.

“Should we prepare a team?” John asks a few steps behind him.

“Yes,” Lyla confirms, “it’s better to be ready when we’ll have the location.”

The two step away to gather the others and to talk to Deputy Director Bell, who just entered the room. He’s probably there to check what’s going on and report it to their superiors.

But Oliver stays where he is and focuses back on the woman sitting at the desk. It’s like he needs to make sure Felicity is okay, not just physically but also mentally and emotionally. This whole situation must be tiring and scary for her. He watches her as she pinches the bridge of her nose and squeezes her eyes shut before blinking fast and then focuses on her work, squinting at the screen.

“Are you okay?” Oliver asks worriedly. “Is it the hit you received during the fight? Are you dizzy? Feeling nauseous?”

Felicity smiles a little at his concern as she shakes her head. “It’s nothing. I took out my contacts because they were bothering me, and I can’t see very well, that’s all. Just a little headache because I’m not wearing my glasses.”

As her words start to make sense in his mind, Oliver reaches inside the pocket of his button down. “That reminds me...” He pulls out the folded glasses he took at her apartment and holds them out for her. “I found them on your dresser. I wasn’t sure if you needed them or not, so I took them, just in case.”

Felicity tries not to think too much on the fact that he kept them in his pocket instead of putting them in the bag with the clothes. Maybe he didn’t want to risk for them to break as he carried the bags around. Still, she smiles gratefully at him and puts them on, sighing in relief. “That’s so much better. Thank you, Oliver. And thank you for the clothes too.”

“Don’t even mention it.” Oliver steps closer and places a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him again. “How are you holding up on everything else?”

She sighs, looking around to make sure no one is listening to their conversation. “I’m dealing with it.” She can’t say she’s fine, because she’s not, but Oliver is right there next to her and his presence helps a lot. “And we’re close to catch him, so…”

Oliver nods. “We’ll get him, and you won’t have to be scared anymore.”

“I hope so.”

Before he can say more, Lyla approaches them again. “Oliver, John will be ready in a few minutes with the others. Will you join them too?”

Felicity watches as Oliver hesitates a few seconds before nodding. _Maybe he wanted to stay here? With me? No, that’s ridiculous. _She shakes her head before she can fantasize more about it. He has a job to do, he can’t babysit her.

“I better get going.” He says, almost reluctantly.

He starts to walk towards the door, when Felicity stops him. “Wait, we have something for you guys.” She reaches inside the desk drawer and grabs the comms.

“We already have them.” Oliver says, pointing at his ear.

“Yes, but these are better.” She holds them out for him. “I updated them a little bit with some extra security, so they can’t be hacked. Your conversations will stay private.”

He takes them and smiles at her. “Felicity… you’re remarkable.”

She fidgets a little and fixes her glasses on her nose. “Thank you for remarking on it.”

They stare at each other for what seems like minutes, but it’s probably just a few seconds. They’re interrupted again by the computer beeping, and Felicity focuses on it.

“Found it. I’ve got the location where the camera was transmitting.” She announces. “It’s about eight minutes away from here, I’ll send the address to your phone.”

Oliver nods. “Okay.”

→

They arrive on place in less than five minutes. John leads the team, Oliver is a few steps behind him, gun ready to be used if necessary.

As cliché as it sounds, it’s an abandoned building, surrounded by more abandoned buildings, so no one would’ve seen Chase getting in and out of it. There’s a car parked outside, but that doesn’t seem abandoned, which means someone must be hiding in there.

Oliver presses the button to open the comms. “We’re on site. There’s a car parked in front of the building.”

“_License plate?_” Felicity asks, and he hears her type furiously the numbers he reports. “_It’s registered to Amanda Westfield, but, wait a second... She changed her name a few years ago. Her real name is Amanda Morrison, mother of Simon Morrison._”

“He’s here.” Oliver concludes. Using his mother’s car was not a smart move. He’s starting to get sloppy as they’re closing in on him.

“_Be careful, guys._” Lyla says. “_We don’t know if he’s working with someone else. This might be a trap._”

“Copy that.” John replies as they advance.

“_There’s a security system that won’t let you get in._” Felicity informs them and types some more. “_Correction, there _was_ a security system. You can go in now._”

“Roger.” John uses his hands to silently order the agents to circle the building and check possible escape routes. Him and Oliver still go for the main door.

“_I’m picking up a strong signal… There are cameras inside. I’ll try to hack them and see what we’re dealing with._”

Oliver opens the door and John steps in. They check the first floor, but no one is around and there’s nothing useful. There are some desks, making him think the building was an office years ago, but everything is dusty, untouched. The stairs though, those are somewhat free of dust on some spots, as if they’ve been used recently. Oliver looks at John, who is already nodding, and they go up to the second floor.

“_I’m in. I don’t see anyone in the building other than you guys, there aren’t-_” Felicity stops abruptly and they’re immediately on alert.

“Felicity?” Oliver asks.

“_Bombs!_” She yells. “_There are bombs on the second floor, and there’s a timer counting down. You’ve got three minutes!_”

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know... another cliffhanger. But, hey, I originally planned a meaner cliffhanger than this one, so... I think you got lucky I changed my mind!
> 
> And don't worry, I'll post soon the next chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting close to the end, and I have to admit it makes me sad. What cheers me up though, is knowing that SPOILER Emily will be back in the series finale!!! Yay!! A happy ending is now a possibility!!!
> 
> Anyway, enough of that... There's a bomb ticking, let's find out how that goes...

Felicity listens anxiously as the men on the other side of the comms order to everyone to get away from the building.

“_Come on, Oliver._” She hears John say. “_Let’s go._”

A moment of pause, in which Felicity can feel the tension building. “_I need to check it out._”

“What?” She can’t help but say. There’s a freaking bomb and he wants to get to it. She understands it’s his job to make sure it won’t cause any casualties, but risk his own life like that, when they can just get away from it?

“_Oliver, man, we don’t have time for that. We need to secure the area._” John says.

“_You and the guys do that. I need to find out where he is, what’s his next move._” He insists. “_I can’t let him get to her again._”

“Oliver, don’t…” Felicity whispers, knowing he’s talking about her. He’s willing to risk everything to find a way to keep her safe. She can’t let him do that, she can’t let anything happen to him.

“Oliver, get out of there!” Lyla says. “This is an order.”

“_I’ll meet you outside._” He says and they hear him running up the stairs that will lead him to the second floor. To the bombs. “_Felicity, talk to me._” He says softly. “_How much time there’s left?_”

“Oliver, please, just leave. We’ll find another way.” She begs him. Felicity doesn’t care if Adrian will get away again, she just doesn’t want for Oliver to die because of her, because he tried to help her.

“_How much time?_” Oliver repeats.

Felicity zooms in the image so the timer is clearly on display. “Just two minutes and ten seconds.” As she says the words, Oliver appears on another camera and he walks to the middle of the room, stopping right in front of the device.

“_Looks like C4 attached to a timer._” He notices.

Felicity types furiously on the keyboard, cursing at the cast on her right hand that won’t let her work faster. She tries to find the frequency of the bomb, but she finds nothing; no weird interferences, no digital way to stop it. It has to be disarmed manually, on site.

“Oliver, I can’t hack it from here. I can’t disarm it. You need to leave!” Her voice trembles as reality starts to really kick in.

She hears him sigh on the other end of the comms. “_Is there another way I can disarm it? Can you talk me through it?_”

“Oliver, you don’t have enough time.” Lyla urges him. “Get out, now!”

Through the video feed she sees him shake his head. “_If I won’t disarm it, then I need to find something we can use._”

“Guys…” Curtis interrupts them. “We may have another problem.”

“Not now.” Lyla silences him.

Felicity watches as Oliver steps around the room, looking through papers thrown on a table, inside the drawers and a bag nearby. He’s thorough in his search, focused on finding some sort of evidence that will help them. He doesn’t seem to care that there’s a bomb _right there!_

“Oliver, you have one minute.” Felicity warns him. She bites her bottom lip in worry, wincing when the action makes her split lip bleed again. Not that she cares at the moment, the pain helps her to focus on what’s going on.

Her heart beats fast in her chest as her hands shake in worry that he might not make it in time. It was a stupid idea to send them before checking out the place. She should have thought Adrian might try to blow up the building to get rid of possible evidence.

“Guys! We’ve got a big problem!” Curtis repeats.

“What?” Lyla asks, almost annoyed.

Before he can answer, an alarm starts to ring inside the office. It’s loud and deafening, and the red light flashing is blinding, but Felicity’s eyes stay on the screen in front of her. “Oliver, leave! Now!”

She has no idea what causes it, but suddenly the screen becomes black and she can’t see Oliver anymore. She types on the keyboard, but to no avail. There’s no power in their computers. “Oliver?”

There’s static, and he’s talking to her but the connection is disturbed as it tries to stay connected via their cellphones. “_Planning… ARG-… not safe… leave!_”

“You’re not safe?” Felicity questions him. “Oliver?”

It’s another ten seconds before she hears it. An explosion on the other side of the comms. After that, nothing.

“Oliver?” She waits and waits, but there’s silence. “Please…” She whispers. Felicity can’t move, can’t look away from the black screen. And she can’t stop the tears that well up in her eyes.

A million thoughts run through her head, from moments she spent together with Oliver the previous two days, to his lifeless body lying on the ground. It’s an image she wants to get out of her head before it gets worse.

She has no idea why she cares so much about him. Afterall, she met him less than 48 hours ago, but it feels like she’s known him for ages. He’s been so kind and caring with her, he has a way of making her feel at ease like no one was ever able to do before, he willingly offered to help her when she didn’t ask for it. He seems to understand her better than anyone else, and they don’t even know each other that well.

And now…

_This is all my fault._ Felicity thinks, guiltily._ I got him involved in this. And now he’s-_

“Felicity!” Lyla calls her loudly as she grabs her arm. “We have to go! Adrian broke in with an army!”

→

Dark smoke surrounds him, and Oliver coughs as he leans against the wall. The explosion caused a fire in the building and he needs to get away from it before it collapses. He takes a step forward and sways, but he doesn’t fall, not when John helps him to stand upright with an arm around his waist.

“You alright?” He asks concerned, and Oliver nods, unable to speak for a moment. “Jumping out of the window of the second floor as the bomb explodes? This must be the dumbest thing you’ve ever done, man.” He shakes his head.

“I’m alive.” He replies groaning as they walk to their car. “That’s the only thing that matters. And this.” He says, showing him the papers he’s still holding tightly.

“What’s that?”

“Chase’s next move. And his accomplice.” He gravelly says.

When they reach the car and Oliver feels like he can walk alone again, he removes his arm from John’s shoulder so his friend can look at the documents he found. It takes him only five seconds to realize what he’s looking at.

“Deputy Director Bell told him to attack ARGUS.” John worriedly says, his eyes wide in shock.

Oliver nods. “Bell knows Felicity is there and told Chase. The bastard wants to finish what he started at her apartment.” Oliver says as they get in the car. “This building was just a decoy to get us away from her.”

“I’ve tried to call for backup, but I can’t reach Lyla or the others.” John informs him as they speed away.

“They must have some device that disturbs communications from ARGUS.” Oliver guesses. “Which means he’s attacking them _now_, probably with an army.”

He can’t help but worry about Felicity. Sure, he’s worried about Lyla and Curtis and all of his colleagues, but they are trained agents, they can defend themselves. Felicity, on the other hand… She’s not trained, and she barely got away from Adrian this morning. She might be a fighter and adrenaline could help her, but Oliver is not sure she could get away again. Not hurt like that, and not if he has other people helping him.

“We need to get there. Fast.”

→

Felicity is shaking.

She sits on the cot in the safe room Lyla took her to, her hands shake and she’s downright terrified. But that’s not because Adrian is so close to get to her. That occupies only a fraction of her mind. She’s terrified for what she just did.

She led Oliver to a place rigged with bombs. She couldn’t disarm said bombs, she tried to find a way but wasn’t able to. She tried and she failed.

She’s the one to blame for Oliver’s death.

Tears stream down her face as she thinks about him. She remembers their first night together, when they still didn’t know each other, but they both felt that connection, that pull. She thinks about the night he offered his help to get her out of this situation. She thinks about the way he held her in the shower this morning, his gentle hands cleaning her body, taking care of her wounds. She thinks about the promise he made to do anything to keep her safe.

More tears fall down her cheeks as a sob escape her lips.

Felicity is so lost in her own head that it takes her a few minutes to realize Lyla is talking to her. “You need to breathe. Breathe and try to calm down.”

“Oliver is dead because of me!” She says loudly. “How can I calm down? Who knows how many others got hurt with him?”

“We don’t know that. We don’t know what’s his situation. Oliver is a trained agent who knows what he’s doing. I’m sure he found a way to get out of there before the bomb went off.” Lyla tries to reassure her. She places her hand on Felicity’s arm and stares into her eyes. “But now, Felicity, you need to focus. Chase is here, he’s most likely coming to get you, and I need to keep you safe.”

She wants to tell her that someone already died trying to keep her safe, and Felicity doesn’t want another person on her conscience, so she should just leave and let Adrian have whatever he wants. She doesn’t care if he kills her, she can’t live knowing Oliver died because of her.

Felicity is about to tell her all of that, when the lights go out and the room is left in complete darkness. She feels Lyla stand and take off the safety of her gun, before she uses a flashlight to look around. No one is there, but even Felicity knows they’re not alone.

She can feel _him_.

She feels his stare on her, like a hunter observing his prey. She can imagine his lips turned upright in a sadistic smile at seeing her scared. She knows his hands are itching, ready to take their revenge for ever going against him. She knows the only reason he hasn’t made a move yet is to keep her on the edge, to terrify her even more. He must be gloating, knowing that it’s working.

Her heart pounds hard in her chest, and her legs shake as she stands. The only sound she hears is the blood rushing in her ears.

“He’s here.” She whispers to Lyla.

A pin drops on the floor and Lyla turns to aim her gun at the ceiling. There’s an air vent, the grate is slightly open and a can is thrown inside the room.

“Get out!” Lyla yells at her.

Before they can move, smoke starts to quickly come out from the can. The smoke irritates her throat and it makes her cough, her eyes start to water as she tries to cover her mouth and nose, but it’s too late. The room is filled with it, all the fresh air is gone.

From somewhere nearby, she can hear Lyla struggling and Felicity tries to reach her, but the smoke is making her feel lightheaded and disoriented. She falls on her knees and crawls toward the door. She wants to check on Lyla, but she can’t think clearly without oxygen, so she decides to get fresh air and then she’ll get back to look for the woman.

Her hand hits a wall, no, the door, and Felicity tries to stand, even if her legs feel like jello. She finds the doorknob, but she’s suddenly pulled back. She feels his hand grip her hair and he pulls hard, making her let out a pained scream.

“Where do you think you’re going all alone?” Adrian says as he pulls her up.

He wraps an arm around her waist, his chest pressed against her back as he leads her outside. Felicity struggles against him, but he’s so much stronger. She looks up at him and sees he’s wearing a gasmask, so she reaches for it. If she can get it off of him, he might inhale some smoke and get weaker, giving her a chance to stop him, or at least escape.

Adrian quickly understands her intentions and grips her uninjured wrist. “Do you want me to break this one too?” He tightens his hold, making her whimper.

When they turn another corner, Felicity recognizes the way and knows he’s taking her to the hospital section of the building. Earlier she saw an emergency exit in that area, so she guesses he must be taking her there.

She sees agents around her, every single one focused on fighting Adrian’s men, and she knows they can’t help her, no matter how hard they tried.

She wants to punch him, yell, cry out in desperation, but the room is unfocused in front of her and she can barely walk, Adrian is holding most of her weight. Felicity doesn’t want to go down without a fight, though, so she tries again to free her wrist. It makes him huff in annoyance.

She sees the exit thirty feet in front of them and her worries increase. If ARGUS wasn’t able to keep her safe, then out there she’ll be even more vulnerable. She looks around and there is medical equipment everywhere. If only she could grab a blade or something, she could try to hurt him, but again, she can’t free her wrist.

Twenty feet.

In a last-ditch effort to get free, she turns her head back to him and bites his neck hard. It makes him scream and she tastes his blood in her mouth -which is disgusting- but at least he let go of her. Her victory doesn’t last long, because he grabs her again and backhands her before he reaches for something on a table nearby.

Right in that moment, the exit door slams open.

“Let her go!”

Felicity can’t believe her ears. _Was the gas some kind of drug?_ She thinks. That is the only explanation, because the man standing at the door with a gun pointed at them… is Oliver.

Oliver, who is covered in soot, with a bleeding cut on his forehead and is leaning heavily on his right leg. He doesn’t look good, but he’s alive.

_He’s alive._

Adrian has her against his chest once again, and in his hand there’s a syringe. A syringe that is too close to her neck for her liking.

“You should be dead.” Adrian says.

“I said. Let. Her. Go.” Oliver repeats, his voice so low it makes her shiver. There’s a coldness in his eyes, as if he won’t hesitate to shoot the man holding her.

“You’re going to let me go through that door. Or blondie here will get a dose of I don’t even know what.” Adrian threatens.

Oliver’s eyes find hers. She can see worry and fear in them, but his hands are steady and focused on his target. “Let her go. I won’t repeat it one more time.”

Adrian tightens his hold on her, surely leaving more bruises on her, before he dramatically sighs. “You are as stubborn as she is.” He shakes his head. “What a shame.”

Felicity feels a sting in her neck and she whimpers, not in pain but in fear. Just as the needle pierces her skin, she hears a loud gunshot echo in the room and she’s dragged to the floor. For a moment, she’s afraid someone shot her and she’s dying when she feels a numb sensation coming over her. She tries to stand, but she can barely move her hands. She feels her pounding heartbeat slow down and she fears the worst.

_This is it._ She thinks._ This is how I die. Injected with an unknown substance by a mad man._

It feels like an eternity, before she sees Oliver kneeling next to her. He pushes away Adrian’s arm from around her waist and somewhere in the back of her mind she realizes that the man hasn’t moved since the gunshot. Oliver gathers her in his arms and one hand cradles her cheek.

“Felicity…” His voice wavers. “Hey, look at me, look at me.” He’s breathing fast and his eyes are beyond worried. “What’s wrong? What do you feel?”

She takes in a ragged breath as she tries to understand what’s going on. “I- I feel… tired.” Her breathing is slowing down too, which makes her whimper again.

Oliver gently lays her on the floor before he quickly stands to search something on the table nearby, the one where Adrian grabbed the syringe. She watches as he grabs some bottles and reads their labels, before he sighs in relief and sits next to her, pulling her in his arms again.

“It’s alright. They’re all sedatives, and most of it is still in the syringe.” He presses a soft kiss on her forehead. “You’re going to be fine.”

His words are reassuring, but she can’t help the tear that escapes her eye.

“No, no, it’s okay, honey. You’ll be fine.” He wipes it away with his thumb. “In a few hours it will be out of your system and you’ll be alright. I promise.”

Felicity closes her eyes and focuses on the sound of his steady heartbeat against her ear. She feels her body relax against her will, when she wants nothing more than run away from where Adrian is, no matter if he’s still on the floor, unmoving.

“Oliver…” The name is out of her mouth before she realizes it.

“I’m here, everything is okay.” He runs his hand through her hair, trying to comfort her, but it doesn’t do much, she’s still scared.

“Alright.” He says as he picks her up.

Oliver walks fast, but he’s careful enough to not jostle her too much, mindful of her injuries as he carries her outside and quickly walks to an agent standing near a car. “Ramirez, get us to the nearest hospital. _Now._”

The car ride is silent, except for his whispered comforting words. Felicity doesn’t fall asleep, like Oliver said, most of the sedative was still in the syringe, but she feels weak and her movements are sluggish, even when she just tries to take his hand. He understands, and takes hold of it, never letting go.

“I’m here.” He repeats, over and over again.

When they arrive at the hospital, he doesn’t leave her side and continues to hold her hand as he explains to the doctors what happened. She doesn’t see the nurse that surreptitiously injects her with something, all she sees is Oliver as he runs his fingers through her hair and tells her that everything will be alright.

→

Oliver watches as Felicity starts to wake up. She’s been asleep for a few hours after the doctor suggested a full dose of sedative might help her to calm down, seeing how close she was to a panic attack when he brought her in. So, for the last couple of hours he held her hand as she got checked out and… things happened outside the hospital.

Her hand twitches in his, and Oliver stands from the chair, leaning over her. He runs his free hand over the top of her head and after a few minutes, when Felicity finally opens her eyes, he smiles down at her.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” She says in a rasped voice.

Oliver turns to get her a glass of water and helps her with the straw.

“Thank you.” She smiles at him.

“How are you feeling?” He asks, putting back the glass.

Felicity sighs. “Not so bad.” But she squints at him. “Are my glasses around? I would like to see more than just a blur in front of me.”

Oliver chuckles and reaches for them on the table, gently putting them on her. His fingers caress her cheek as he pulls back, before he grabs her hand again.

She smiles at the gesture, but when she looks at him she frowns. “Are you okay?” She indicates his clothes, dirty from the explosion, then her eyes widen as if she just remembered it. “The bomb! You were there, how did you get out? Are you hurt? What-”

“Felicity, I’m fine.” He reassures her. “I jumped out of the window before it exploded.”

She blinks, staring at him, unbelieving. “You jumped out of the window?” She slowly asks him, trying to make sense of what he’s saying. “Are you crazy?”

“It was the fastest way out.” He shrugs, as if it was no big deal. “Listen, it’s okay. I’ll be fine, and it was worth it. I found his plans to attack ARGUS, I knew his escape route and I was able to stop him before he could kidnap you.” Felicity opens her mouth a couple of times, but no words come out. “I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough and he drugged you.” He shakes his head, feeling guilty. “I should’ve stopped him sooner.”

“Oliver… you saved my life, again.” She shakes her head. “I don’t care if he gave me a sedative, you were there to protect me.”

“But I didn’t.” He insists. “I had no idea what was in that syringe. If it was something lethal-”

“It wasn’t. So, don’t torture yourself over this. Okay?”

Oliver wants to fight her on this, wants to explain how many things could’ve gone wrong, but he can see she still looks tired, so he lets it go.

“What about Lyla? She was with me when Adrian got me. I heard her struggle, but there was gas in the room and I couldn’t do anything…”

“She’s fine, she has a bump in her head, but nothing serious.” He reassures her. “There were no casualties, no one of our agents and no one from Chase’s army. They all got arrested.”

Felicity takes a deep breath. “And him?”

“Gone.” Oliver simply says.

She doesn’t need to know that the bastard has a bullet in his brain because of him, no matter how much the man deserved it. He was ready to fight the man, make him pay for ever raising a hand on Felicity and all those other women. Oliver almost looked forward to beat him up. In the end, the bastard didn’t suffer. He died a quick death. Way too painless, according to Oliver.

“We ran blood tests on you as well as on him, after we figured out you bit him trying to escape. He was clean.” Oliver reassures her.

He sees her swallow hard and nod in understanding. “How did he know I was there? At ARGUS?”

Oliver sighs. “Deputy Director Bell. He told Chase you were with us since this morning. He gave him blueprints of our building and showed him the fastest and safest way in and out for him to kidnap you.” He watches as the information registers in her mind.

“But why?” Felicity frowns, not understanding.

“For money. Bell confessed that Chase paid him a lot of money to inform him whenever the FBI, CIA and every other Government’s agency was closing in on him. Bell told Chase we were going to find him soon, and thanks to you nonetheless, so Chase decided to attack ARGUS while the best agents were out looking for him elsewhere.”

Felicity takes a deep breath. “All about money.”

“Yeah.” Oliver confirms. “And there’s more… Do you remember Todd Johnson?”

He feels Felicity stiffen at the name. “He was my supervisor at Kord Industries. The disgusting man that leered and groped any girl within his reach.”

Oliver nods. “We found out he’s been working with Chase for a while.”

Her eyes widen. “What?”

“Johnson was one of the many people who recommended girls to Chase. He was a trafficker too. We arrested him now.” Oliver tells her gently, watching as she quickly connects the dots.

“Wait, so that means… Todd said to Adrian to use me for their trafficking?”

Oliver nods.

“And that’s why Adrian approached me that night?”

He nods again. “Johnson told him you were having a bad day so it would’ve been easier to find something to use against you. Chase got you drunk, you talked, and, you know… He got something to blackmail you. Johnson already confessed everything, hoping to get a shortened sentence.”

Felicity shakes her head. “I can’t believe it. It was all his fault if I got dragged into this mess.”

“Yes, and now he will pay for it.” Oliver tells her, his voice strong and sure. He sits again in the chair next to the bed, his hand still holds hers and he looks down at their entwined hands. He feels her eyes on him though, studying him.

“There’s something you’re not telling me.” Felicity says. His eyes meet hers and he can’t hide the truth from her. “What is it?”

He tightens his hold on her hand and takes a deep breath. “Before the attack, Curtis made a program to see if the video Chase used to blackmail you was online…”

Felicity nods. “I already had a program like that, it didn’t find anything, Chase kept everything offline, on those USB drives.” She says.

“I know, but he still wanted to be sure, so he let it run, and during the whole ordeal… well, only after the attack, he found out that Chase already emailed the video.”

Felicity closes her eyes. “To who?” She already knows the answer, but she doesn’t want to believe it.

“To Palmer Technologies and other main companies in Starling City, as well as Central City.” Oliver says quietly. “Curtis deleted every trace of the video, but… most of them already saw it.”

Felicity knew it was going to happen. She knew he was going to do something about it. She was sure about it.

She nods, defeated. “I guess I already have a message from Palmer Tech.”

“Voicemail.” He confirms. “I didn’t listen to it, but…”

“We both know what’s on it.”

Oliver sighs. “Curtis says that Palmer Tech just announced they’re looking for someone to manage their IT Department.”

Felicity opens her eyes and looks directly at him, her eyes so sad. “Even in death he still wins.”

Oliver shakes his head with a small smile on his face. “I wouldn’t be so sure.” When she frowns, he reaches inside his pocket to grab an envelope and holds it out for her. “Lyla passed by when you were sleeping.”

Felicity silently takes the envelope and opens it. She reads the words over and over again, before she looks at him, almost shocked. “Is this some kind of joke?”

Oliver shakes his head smiling. “Curtis wants to marry his boyfriend, and requested to be transferred in DC months ago. We were just waiting for the right person to take his place.”

“You’re offering me to work for ARGUS?” She asks incredulous.

“Lyla saw what you’re capable of doing.” He explains. “In just over an hour, you upgraded our comms, found a criminal’s headquarters, hacked his security system as well as his surveillance cameras, and you were ready to disarm a bomb.” Oliver shakes his head in wonder. “You’re a genius, Felicity.”

She smiles and a tinge of pink colors her cheeks, but then she shakes her head. “I don’t want you guys to offer me a job just because those companies won’t accept me anymore.”

Oliver shakes his head. “We’re not offering because of that. We’re offering you to work with us because you’re _so smart_ and deserve a job that will help you to reach your maximum potential. You can accomplish great things, Felicity, _I know it_.” They stare at each other for what seems like hours, but it’s probably just a few moments. “Besides, Lyla passed by to leave this _before_ we found out about the emailed video. This is all because you deserve it, Felicity.”

Felicity looks down at the paper again, contemplating her options but she’s unsure. It’d be so easy to accept, knowing people there won’t judge her past actions, but at the same time she doesn’t want to take advantage of their generosity, even if Oliver said it happened before knowing she just got fired, again.

“Just try it.” He says. “If after a few weeks you realize you don’t like it, just say it and we’ll find a solution.”

Oliver really hopes she will accept. He doesn’t want to admit it, but he’s not ready to say goodbye to her. He’s starting to trust her, no, he _already_ trusts her, she makes him feel at ease and there is that connection between them…

When Felicity looks at him, he knows she wants to accept, but, “Will it be weird? After what happened between us?”

“I don’t know.” He sincerely replies. “I think… I think it all depends on what we decide to do next.”

Oliver watches her think about it, consider their options, try to understand what they are and what they could be. When after a while she still doesn’t seem to know what to do, he speaks again.

“What about this… we’ll work together, get to know each other without thinking too hard about putting a label on what we really are. If with time we realize there’s something more than friendship, we can give it a try and see what happens. If there’s nothing more between us, then we’ll continue to work together and remain friends or whatever.” He shakes his head. “We don’t have to decide _now_ what we want.”

This time, Felicity doesn’t hesitate and nods. “I like that.”

Oliver holds out his hand. “Friends?”

Felicity smiles and takes his hand to shake. “Friends.”

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo..... Friends. Do you think that will be enough for them?


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I know it's a little later than promised, but things got crazy at work with extra shifts and stuff, but here we are! The final chapter of this story is here!
> 
> Enjoy!

_Four months later._

Felicity types on her keyboard, saving the information she found, disconnects the USB drive and turns to him. “There you go.” She says with a smile on her face.

Oliver takes it from her hand, his fingers brush against hers and she can’t help the small sigh that escapes from her lips at the small contact.

He smiles at her. “Felicity… you’re remarkable.”

She fixes the glasses on her nose when his stare starts to get heavy. “Thank you for remarking on it. Again.” She can feel the blush cover her cheeks as his smile widens.

For months, it has been like this between them.

After she recovered from her injuries, Felicity started to work for ARGUS and she found herself enjoying it very much. Everyone was polite and friendly, and never judged her for her past. But Oliver was the one who was really there for her.

He’s been supportive, caring, he was there whenever she needed someone to talk to, and he started to open up to her about what he’s been through and the toll it took on him.

They spent a lot of time together, at ARGUS for work, but also outside. Sometimes John and Lyla joined them when they went to grab a bite at Big Belly Burger, even Thea, but most of the times, it was just them.

There were long phone calls. Sometimes about easy stuff, sometimes about work, other times Oliver called in the middle of the night after he had a nightmare about the times he’s been held captive. He’d talk to her about it, looking for reassurances and comfort, and Felicity always seemed to be able to calm him.

Oliver also helped her to move out from her old apartment to a new one, with far more security and closer to the office. It’s also closer to Oliver’s house, but obviously that’s just a coincidence. Really, it’s not like she looked for a place closer to _him_… Right?

Before she can say something awkward, she focuses back on their job. “Though, I’m not sure how much useful that info will be, the place has been abandoned for years, and no one seems to use it anymore, even illegally.”

Oliver nods. “That’s okay, it’s still worth a try.” He stands from the chair next to hers, his hand lightly squeezes her shoulder as he steps around the desk to leave, but he stops and turns to look at her again. “Felicity, there’s… tonight there’s a special marathon of old Doctor Who episodes on tv. Maybe we can… I mean, I don’t know if you want to watch it, but- no, wait, of course you’ll watch it, it’s one of your favorite shows.” He adorably shakes his head at himself. “What I’m saying is, would you like to, uh…”

His uneasiness brings a small smile on Felicity’s face. “Usually, I’m the one talking in sentence fragments.” She points out. “And… you’ve never watched Doctor Who.” She has a feeling of where this conversation is going and her heart speeds up in anticipation.

He smiles. “I know, but you seem to like it so much… So, I thought that maybe we could-”

“Ollie.” A voice interrupts them.

Felicity looks at the woman standing a few feet away from them. Brunette, impeccable tailored suit, legs that go on for miles. She’s the model type, and Felicity can’t help but think that they’re complete opposites. She has no idea why the thought crosses her mind, though the fact that the woman called him ‘Ollie’ means they know each other well enough to use the nickname only used by his sister and his best friend from his childhood.

She feels Oliver take a step closer to where she’s still sitting, almost as if he wants to hide behind her, which she finds weird because he’s the brave one and it’s not like the woman will attack them. At least, she doesn’t think so.

“Laurel.” He says surprised.

_Oh. That Laurel._ Felicity thinks, and Oliver’s reaction now makes sense. He talked to her about his ex a few times, explained that she was one of the few people that made him feel insecure about himself. Felicity feels a sense of protectiveness come over her when the woman steps closer.

“Hi, Ollie. It’s been a long time.” Laurel says smiling, completely ignoring Felicity, her eyes only for Oliver.

“Yeah. It has been.” He confirms, but says nothing more.

Silence falls in the room, and Felicity looks around uncomfortably. _Talk about awkward._

“Can we talk?” Laurel asks, before glancing at her. “Alone.” She’s obviously telling _her_ to leave.

Felicity is about to tell her that this is her office, where she’ll have to work there for the next few hours, so if they want to talk, _they_ should leave, but Oliver places a hand on her shoulder.

He smiles when he looks down at her, missing the way Laurel’s eyes widen at his action. “We’ll continue our conversation later, okay?” He tells her softly.

Felicity nods silently and watches as the two leave the room together. She’d be lying if she said that watching them together she doesn’t feel a little jealous. _Alright, very jealous._

Lately, she has spent so much time with Oliver, getting to know him without thinking about what kind of relationship they have. They’re being friends, and she likes it, but the more time passes, the more she feels something inside her chest that she can’t deny. Felicity trusts him, she feels like he can understand her and understand why she made the choices she made in the past, just like she understands him and his worries. When they find themselves talking on the phone late at night, they give each other support, and it usually helps them to overcome their fears and doubts.

Felicity always felt like the feeling was mutual, but… what if she’s wrong? What if he doesn’t feel the same? What if he just wants to be friends and she read too much into it?

She shakes her head and tries to focus on her job before her mind can go elsewhere. As she looks down on her desk, she notices Oliver left his phone. He’s going to need it when he’ll go out to check the place she just gave him info about, so she grabs it and stands, walks out of her office and asks around if her colleagues saw him. She follows their directions and is able to find him.

But she can’t go to him.

She can’t because she feels her hands tremble, tears pool in her eyes, and her heart aches as she sees Oliver’s hand on Laurel’s arm, the woman’s hands around his waist and their lips connected in a kiss.

Before anyone can see her about to cry, Felicity turns around and quickly walks towards the restroom. Luckily, it’s empty and no one can hear her cry as she allows herself to feel the disappointment. Not that she would’ve cared if someone heard her cry, not when she feels like an iron fist is wrapped around her heart, and the tight grip makes her legs shake.

All those talks, the little touches, the smiles, the looks… She thought there was actually something between them.

She was so wrong.

→

Oliver steps into the room and gathers the things he’ll need. He wears a vest, grabs his comm device, some knives and extra bullets. He’s loading his gun, when John enters the room to do the same.

“Hey, man.”

“Hi, John.” He replies, focused on his work.

His friend stops in front of him and Oliver can feel his studying stare. “Is something wrong?” He asks. John knows him so well, and he’s never had a problem to be direct.

But Oliver shakes his head. “I’m getting ready for the mission.” He says as a way of explanation for his clipped reply.

“You already know it’s probably an abandoned place, Felicity said so, too. There’s nothing to worry about.” John reminds him. “And that wasn’t what my question was about.”

Oliver checks the safety and holsters the gun, before he looks at his friend. He’s known John for so many years now, he’s the only person that can understand him and give him some advice, even if he already knows what he’ll say. “Laurel passed by.”

John frowns and crosses his arms, a stern expression on his face. He’s not Laurel’s biggest fan, not ever since he realized how bad she was for him. He’s never had a problem to show his dislike for the woman. “What did she want?”

Oliver sighs. “Me.” He confesses.

“Explain that sentence, please.” John sounds angry, and he can’t blame him.

Oliver sits on a chair nearby and runs a hand through his hair. “She said that she just got out from rehab, again. She said that she’s doing better and wants to give our relationship another try.”

“Do I have to remind you how toxic you are for each other?” John pointedly asks him.

“I know. I know it would be bad, really bad.” Oliver nods. “_I know_. But… she kissed me.”

His friend raises his chin in judgement. “And one kiss convinced you that you can make it work? That it will erase everything she put you through? That you can live a happily ever after together?”

“What? No!” Oliver shakes his head. “Absolutely not. That’s why I pulled back and told her that it’s not going to happen. I made clear that I’m not interested in her, and that we were never really in love, it was just the idea of love.”

John frowns, but nods as his mind tries to process the information. “Okay, then what’s the problem? What’s bothering you?”

“She doesn’t want to understand that we’re over.” He shakes his head. “No matter what I say, she believes we need to be together. Because we have history and we’re meant to be.”

“Did you try to tell her that you’re in love with someone else?”

Oliver nods. “Of course, I told her, but she… wait.” Oliver stops as he realizes what his friend just said and frowns, looking at him suspiciously. “What?”

John scoffs. “Come on, man. It’s clear as day that you and Felicity are in love with each other.” His friend says.

Oliver opens his mouth to reply but no words come out. He can’t deny what John said, because he’d be lying. He loves Felicity, and for months now he’s been trying to find a way to tell her, but doubts keep showing up whenever he’s about to confess his feelings.

He knows his friend is a good observer, but he didn’t think he was being so obvious about his feelings. Of course, he also wasn’t trying to keep them hidden. There were times where he openly flirted with Felicity, but… “How do you know?”

“Are you serious?” John asks, unbelieving. “Oliver, you two are inseparable, you end each other’s sentence, look at each other with heart-eyes, can have entire conversations without actually speaking, you helped her to move out from her old apartment…”

“You helped her too.” Oliver points out.

“Yes…” John nods smiling. “But _I_ wasn’t the one who fell asleep with her on her couch.”

“Nothing happened.” Oliver defends himself. “We were tired and just talked, then fell asleep… until you woke us up in the morning.”

John sighs. “I think that the fact you didn’t go any further, means so much more. I know you Oliver, you don’t trust easily. And falling asleep with someone that is supposedly a stranger, only means that you trust her. You’re pulling down your walls and letting her in. And I think that’s a good thing for you. She can be the one that will actually help you heal old wounds, show you that you deserve someone by your side who can support you and respect you.”

Oliver sighs. He likes those moments with Felicity, moments when it’s just the two of them and they talk about their worries. Oliver hates talking about his problems, his PTSD, his nightmares, but with Felicity it’s different, _she_ is different. She listens to him, she understands and supports him, never judges and says her opinion about it without ever being disrespectful or mean. Mean it’s not a word he’d ever associate with Felicity. No, when he thinks about Felicity, all that comes to mind is her kindness and her good heart. Happiness. When he thinks about Felicity, he thinks about happiness.

“You need to tell her how you feel, Oliver.”

“I don’t want to ruin what we already have.” He confesses. “What if she doesn’t feel the same?”

“She feels the same, man.” John reassures him with a smile. “You won’t ruin anything. Just talk to her.”

→

Felicity sighs again. She’s sitting on her couch, a steaming mug of hot chocolate in her hands and a blanket over her legs as she watches Doctor Who.

Alone.

If this was a movie, ‘All by myself’ by Celin Dion would be playing in the background. But this isn’t a movie, this is her life. And in real life the man she’s falling for doesn’t show up at the door to confess his love.

She promised herself to not be sad about it, not think about the disappointment, but she can’t help it. She really thought there was something between her and Oliver, but it wouldn’t explain why he kissed his ex, right after he talked to her about watching Doctor Who together. Okay, he didn’t say those exact words, and it’s not like it was going to be a date or something, but he seemed nervous about it, like when you ask someone out on a date, so… Alright, maybe she read too much into it.

But all those times he seemed to be flirting with her, their talks about their pasts, about their doubts and insecurities, the way he looked at her as if she’s the only one who understands him…

Felicity turns off the tv she’s not really watching and takes a sip of her chocolate. She’s still lost in her own thoughts, thinking about every time he seemed to be flirting with her, when the doorbell rings. She looks at the clock and frowns when she notices the hour. 10:30.

_Maybe it’s him? Is he here to watch the show like he was going to ask?_ She immediately shakes that thought away. _It’s not possible._

She stands from the couch and walks to the door. When she opens it, she frowns.

“John? What are you doing here now?”

“It’s Oliver.” He says gravelly. “He’s been taken.”

→

Felicity types furiously on her keyboard. She’s been sitting on this chair for the last four hours, working hard to find Oliver as John’s words echo in her head.

_I’m not sure if the place wasn’t abandoned or if they followed our car from ARGUS, but eight guys jumped out of nowhere and used a taser on both of us. They grabbed Oliver and put him on a black van. They were about to take me too, but I was able to get my gun and before I could shoot, they ran away. I have no idea who they were, or what they wanted, but you need to find Oliver._

_You’re the only one who can._

With that responsibility hanging on her head, Felicity worked hour after hour on her computer at home. The computer Oliver gave to her as a gift, the same computer as the one she adoringly worked on the first time she’s been at ARGUS as they looked for Adrian.

Swallowing the lump in her throat whenever she thought about Oliver, she worked and ran the license plate John gave to her, only to find that the vehicle was stolen. She watched the recordings of the CCTV cameras, but to no use because some videos had been deleted on purpose. She wasn’t able to find a lead to follow, and she was left with nothing.

If only she gave back to Oliver his phone… she would’ve already found him. But no, she got cold feet when she saw him with Laurel, so his phone was left on her desk at ARGUS and she couldn’t track it to find him.

But then something happened, and Oliver’s comms started to work again and John could hear voices. They heard men asking Oliver about codes to access ARGUS’s databases, codes they needed to access personal files of the agents working there. With every question, Oliver stayed silent. Not a single word from him, only a few sharp intakes of breath or a grunt.

Felicity tried her best to ignore the pain in her chest whenever those men hurt him, as she focused on tracking his comm link. It took her longer than she would’ve liked, because she had to hack her own security measures, which were a challenge even for her because they were too much secure.

But in the end, she found it. She found a location and immediately sent agents to a warehouse in the Glades.

So, now, she watches the feed from John’s bodycam, and gives him directions through the building, opening digitally locked doors for him and his team as they search the place. After a few empty rooms, they find around ten men trying to run from the warehouse. The team does a quick job at stopping them, and soon they confess where Oliver is.

John follows their directions and Felicity watches in anguish the images on her screen.

Oliver has his hands chained up to the ceiling, his naked chest is covered in cuts that are still bleeding, his face shows a few bruises and a black eye. He looks up at John and gives him a small smile.

“Hey, man.” He says, his voice rough. “It’s good to see you.”

John walks over and frees his hands, supporting his weight when Oliver has some troubles standing upright. “I could say the same thing, but you’ve looked better.”

“Thanks.” He replies dryly as they walk out. “I guess Felicity is the one who found me. She’s the only one who could be that fast.”

Felicity chokes on a sob when she hears his words and she has to cover her mouth to prevent more from coming out.

She cries because she can finally breathe, knowing Oliver has been rescued. She cries because his faith in her didn’t waver as those people tortured him for hours. She cries because he thinks she’s been fast, when those were the longest four hours of her life.

Before John can answer, she sees Oliver lean down toward the bodycam.

“Thank you, Felicity.” He whispers softly into the mic, making her cry even more.

The terror she felt when John told her Oliver had been taken, the fear that overtook her when she couldn’t find him right away, the pain at seeing more signs of torture on his body… it all disappears when she hears his words.

He trusted her to find him, he believed she’d do it. He used that knowledge to hold on.

Felicity takes in a ragged breath. “Take him home, John. Take him home.”

→

He raises his hand and gently knocks twice.

It’s late, 4:30 in the morning, and he’s not sure if she’s going to be awake, but he knows he won’t fall asleep until he sees her. After the last couple of hours, the only thing he needs is to see her. And he guesses she wants the same.

John told him she wanted to get to ARGUS when they were on their way back from the warehouse, but Oliver insisted that she should stay at home. Between writing the report on his kidnapping, and get checked out by a doctor, it took him a couple of hours before he could leave.

Now, he’s about to finally see her after the day’s events.

It’s not long before he hears the door unlock and then swing open. She’s wearing her pjs, her hair is up in a messy ponytail, her glasses are sliding down her nose, her eyes are red and she looks utterly exhausted.

_She’s so beautiful._ He can’t help but think.

“Hey.” Oliver smiles at her.

“Hey.” It’s barely a whisper, and she looks about to cry.

Oliver sighs and steps in, quickly closing the door before wrapping his arms around her. As soon as he does that, she clutches his shirt and starts to cry.

“Shh, it’s okay. I’m okay.” He reassures her.

He holds her as she continues to cry for a long time, slightly trembling against him and it makes him hug her more tightly. The feeling of her body against his, the scent of her shampoo under his nose and her heartbeat under his hands relax him in a way only Felicity is able to do. He can feel the tension still running through her, and he tries to sooth her running his hands over her back, his cheek resting on the top of her head where he places a few kisses every once in a while.

“Don’t you dare to disappear like that ever again.” Felicity tells him angrily, jabbing a finger against his chest.

He kisses the top of her head again and breathes her in. “I promise I’ll do my best.”

Felicity’s hands softly run over his back, as if she’s trying to make sure he’s still in one piece. Oliver closes his eyes and enjoys the feeling, the calmness that overtakes him at just being near her again.

“Were they waiting for you? Was the warehouse a trap?” She suddenly asks, sounding scared.

He knows she probably believes it’s her fault, that the place wasn’t abandoned and she didn’t do a good job during her search, and he can’t let her believe that for another second. So, he tightens his embrace and explains.

“They followed me and John from ARGUS. They wanted to know the codes to access private files on the agents that work there. I’m not sure why, John and Lyla are questioning them now, but my guess is so they could blackmail the agents to get something in return, like money or more information they could sell to other criminals. Usually, that’s what happens in these situations. Too bad for them that I’m trained to not say a word.”

“I’ve heard.” Felicity quietly says.

“I wasn’t sure if the comms were working correctly, I couldn’t hear anything...”

She nods. “We heard those men talking, so I started to work on that. I wasn’t able to track it at first because it was off, but then it suddenly went online…”

“I turned it on when they left me alone.” He explains, recalling the way he had to pull himself up holding the chains to press his fingers against the device in his ear.

She looks up at him. “How did you do that while chained up to the ceiling?”

“I have my ways.” Oliver winks at her and she blushes slightly.

She sighs against him. “How bad are your injuries?” She asks pulling back, her hand cradles his bruised cheek. “Gosh, I’m sorry, you should sit, you got hurt and-”

“Felicity…” Oliver places his hands on her upper arms. “I’m fine. Those people were beginners, they had no idea how to torture someone. I only have superficial cuts. I didn’t even need stitches.”

“Still, you need to rest.” She insists as she takes his hand and leads him to the couch. He sits and then she takes place next to him, still holding his hands. “I’m so sorry it took me so long to find you.”

“Hey, you found me, that’s what matters.”

Felicity shakes her head. “I could’ve found you sooner if you had your phone with you. And now you wouldn’t be this hurt.”

“It didn’t take you that long.” He says. “And it’s my fault. I forgot it.”

“It’s _my_ fault. I saw your phone, and I was going to give it to you, but then I didn’t and it was still on my desk when you disappeared. If only I-”

“Felicity, it was not your fault.” Oliver reassures her. “I’m back now, that’s all I care about.” He squeezes her hands. “I’m _here_. And I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” He tells her truthfully. Her warm hands in his are an anchor he clings to, reassuring him that they’re both fine.

She sighs, looking down at the floor. “Maybe you shouldn’t be here.”

Oliver frowns. “What?” The thought that she doesn’t want him here starts to form in his mind, but then she speaks again.

“Maybe you should be at Laurel’s.” She says quietly, still looking down. “I mean, it’s not my business, but I just… I don’t understand why you’re here.”

Her words surprise him. _At Laurel’s? What…?_ Before he can ask her what she means, she continues.

“I… I was looking for you to give you back your phone, and I saw you kissing, so I thought that maybe you two…”

“No.” Oliver stops her immediately. She looks up at him and he can see the hurt in her eyes, the disappointment. He can’t let her think like that. “No, Felicity. You saw _her_ kissing me.”

“Okay, but you two are still a thing… I mean, even if it wasn’t the best experience, you had a relationship in the past…” She stutters, clearly uncomfortable. “Maybe those feelings are still there, and you two want to… I don’t know…”

Oliver scoots closer and stares into her eyes. “Felicity, you said you saw us kissing.” She nods. “But did you see when I pulled away? Did you hear when I told her that I won’t have a relationship with her ever again because what we had was toxic for the both of us? Did you hear when I told her that I don’t love her, and I don’t think I ever will because another woman owns my heart?”

He patiently waits as the words register in her mind. Felicity continues to look at him, her mouth opens a few times, but she doesn’t speak. She seems surprised, and maybe she doesn’t fully understand the meaning behind them. So, he tries to be clearer.

“Felicity… before I met you, I had a plan.” He starts. “I was going to live my life, day after day, without caring about having someone in my life. My job, protecting the city and the people in it, was my purpose. My family and my friends were the only people I needed in my life.” Oliver takes a deep breath. “But then you walked into my life. In a rather… unique way, but still, I met you. And you changed everything.”

He watches as Felicity inhales sharply, and her hands shake in his. Anticipation runs through them, he can feel it.

“I was surrounded by darkness. My life was led by doubts and insecurities about myself and how I related with others. But _you_… _You_, Felicity, with your kindness, your compassion, your intelligence, and your trust… you brought me into the light.” Oliver takes a deep breath as he feels his throat tighten with emotion. “You let me know, that I deserved it. That I deserve you. Because_ you_ are that light. You made me believe in myself again. And, no matter what will happen, what you will decide… the way you make me feel is the best part of my life. And I will always carry it with me and cherish it, every single day.”

He’s never been good with words, but he feels the need to make her understand the depth of his feelings.

“I love you, Felicity. I think I always have, ever since our first night together.” His voice trembles as he finally let himself admit what he’s been trying to say for months.

“Oliver…” Her voice is just a whisper but he hears it. It’s clear his words touched her deeply.

“I don’t know what life will reserve us, but I know that you are my always. And I just want the chance to be yours.” He confesses.

A tear slips down her cheek and he wipes it away with his thumb. He hopes those are happy tears, because if not…

“I love you too.” Her soft voice is music to his ears. “I love you, Oliver. And I’m not saying that because of what you just told me, I’m saying that because seeing you with Laurel hurt like hell, and then when you were missing there was a tight grip around my heart, a pain so strong that I could barely breathe. They were the longest and scariest six hours of my life.”

Her hands cup his cheeks and she lightly scratch his beard, careful of the bruising. “During these months, _you_ helped _me_ to believe in myself again, to have more self-esteem and overcome my fears. _You_ brought me into the light, too. I became a person I didn’t even know I was able of becoming. I became the very best version of myself. And that would have never been possible without you.” She smiles at him. “What I feel for you, this love, it gives my life meaning, gives my life purpose.”

Warmth spreads through his chest the more she speaks, and Oliver can’t fight the smile that forms on his face. Her hands tighten in his and it makes him lean closer to her.

“Months ago, we decided that we didn’t need a label on what kind of relationship we had.” She continues. “And I was okay with that. We got to know each other, and I enjoyed every minute of it. But then I started to feel more than friendship. And I wasn’t sure how you felt about it, so I didn’t say anything in fear of…”

“I feel more than friendship too.” He says, resting his forehead against hers. “I love you, Felicity. My only regret is that it took me some time to admit it.”

Felicity softly laughs, and Oliver could swear it’s the best sound he’s ever heard in his life.

“So…” He starts, hope rising in his chest. “Would you like to give us a chance?”

She doesn’t even think about it and nods. “I would really like that.”

With a smile still on his face, Oliver leans down and captures her lips in a soft kiss. They don’t rush it, they take their time as the passion they tried to hide for months comes rushing back in full force. The kiss is sweet, tender and unhurried.

But that’s okay. Because as they kiss each other, knowing that the other feels the same, they know they’ll have all the time in the world. They’ll spend days and weeks, months and years, enjoying what they have.

They know this is just the beginning of their journey. This is the beginning of their life together.

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to say, I'm sad we're already at the end, but it felt right to end here. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I loved writing it, and I hope one day the muse will strike again and inspire me to write more about this universe.
> 
> Anyway, thank you so much for the kudos, comments and support. It's all appreciated!


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